Double the Trouble!
by Absolutely Unsure
Summary: Team 7 has just come back from their mission in the land of waves and Naruto thought his life would seem a little less dramatic after the whole Haku issue. Too bad he was as wrong as ever - NarutoXOC, Part I finished!
1. Welcome to Konoha, New Friend!

_Standard Disclaimer for entire story: I don't own Naruto, but touch Kitsune and you die!_

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**Episode 1 : Welcome to Konoha, New Friend!**

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**-**

Naruto sighed as he slouched down against a tree trunk, panting and trying to even out his breathing.

He'd woken up this morning to find a note by Kakashi saying he was taking Sasuke and Sakura on a separate mission and for him to relax a little and train with himself if he wanted, not wanting to strain himself after he'd just gone against Haku.

Naruto had been angry at first, thinking Sasuke had had just the same amount of stain (maybe even more) and yet he was able to go, and so had gone out and punched the crap out of a dozen or so trees, ran about fifteen miles, and then had decided to practice his weapon throwing so that when his 'team' did come back he could kill them from far off, before they knew what hit them. He was still chucking sharp objects at trees when he suddenly realized how exhausted he was, and so had gone to lean against a tree.

He got up with a groan and started walking back to town, hungry, but found after he walked only twenty feet or so, that he was just too tired and so slumped down again in the clear grass patch that he'd been practicing on, thinking that he'd start again after he'd had a few seconds to regroup. He flipped over onto his back with a grunt and looked up at the orange stained sunset sky, a few fluffy pink clouds floating past, the tall grass easily covering his body from view.

He jumped when he heard a rustling in the tall grass nearby. But he was quickly relieved when he saw a small black fox peep out of the tall grass at him. In relief at it not being an enemy, he fell bback again and continued watching the clouds before his brilliant blue eyes slowly shut.

He jumped again as he felt something wet on his cheek and snapped his eyes open to find the black fox peering at him from the side of his face, it's sparkling hazel brown eyes starring into his inquisitively.

He sighed and it caused the fox to perk its large ears up a little more.

Naruto smiled as he lifted his beaten up hand to pet the small fox, it's entire body about two-thirds the size of a regular cat, a fairly small size for a fox.

It leaned into his touch and started licking his hand and Naruto chuckled to himself, a small tingling sensation.

"I wonder where you came from…" Naruto wondered out loud lazily, his speech slightly slurred as a clear indication of his lack of energy.

The small fox seemed to smile before it gracefully bounded onto his open stomach and curled it's self in a tiny ball, it's face directed to Naruto as it blinked innocently, it huge eyes still locked with his own cerulean.

"Well, nice to know I at least have _one_ friend," Naruto muttered as he stroked the animal again, marveling at its silky fur.

The last thing he remembered before drifting off into sleep again was the soft purring of the fox as he continued to pet it.

** -**

Naruto groaned as he felt the sunlight shot into his squinting eyes. He stretched his arms up high and realized that whatever he was lying on sure as hell wasn't as soft as his usual bed.

He opened his eyes all the way and looked up and saw the blue sky again, this time with no clouds. He turned his head and was met with countless grass blades that stretched into the sky.

He started to sit up, but with the movement, heard a slight yip and looked on his belly to find the fox was still there and had just rudely been woken up by his movement.

"Sorry," he laughed out, which made the fox perk up and turn its ears in his direction again, as if intrigued by anything he did. He gently picked it up and placed it on the ground, finding that it was very light.

He stood up and started stretching his soar joints from his long slumber. He finally looked up and found that the sun was at its zenith, meaning it was around twelve in the afternoon; so he'd slept through the middle of the next day. But he just brushed if off, knowing he really had nowhere he needed to be. The only real problem was how he felt like his stomach, lacking food, had started to eat itself.

He started walking away and stuck his hands in his pockets, thinking of the wonderous ramen that he could have and wondering if he had any coupons left or if he could just get Iruka to pay for him again. Yet those thoughts were put aside as he heard a small snap of a twig and turned around quickly, only to find the same small black fox who looked up at him. He could have sworn as he blinked that he could see a hint of remorse on it's furry face as it looked down at it's small paw and the twig it'd snapped.

"Shoo, go home!" Naruto exclaimed, a little irked at this fox for making him continuously paranoid.

But when he continued on, he looked back and found that it was still following him.

He sighed as he crouched down so it was closer to it level. It neatly trotted up to him and licked him lightly on the nose, making him smile lightly and scratch the animal behind its ear, making it lean into his touch and start that odd purring again.

"Don't you have a home?" Naruto asked it as he cut short of the scratching.

It just starred back at him with big eyes until it shook its head once.

"Can you understand me?" Naruto asked with wide eyes, which it replied to with one small nod.

"_Sweet_!" Naruto yelled. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked as he held up three fingers.

The small fox lightly yipped three times. Naruto was so stunned that he sat down and the fox, again, went up to him and nudged his hand.

"I can't believe it. Can you talk?" he asked with excitement. He had learned about ninja animals from Iruka, but he'd also said it was fairly rare to find one in the wild as they supposedly liked their seclusion.

It shook its head twice and Naruto saw that its eyes had became saddened.

"Well, you look really scrawny," Naruto said as he picked it up, and could easily feel its rips, which made it have an odd coughing sound that sounded like laughter. But he dismissed the crazy idea that a fox could laugh.

"Fine, come on," Naruto said with a smile as he continued walking, the fox now briskly following him.

Naruto jumped when he felt something dart up his left pant leg and climb up his leg and then over his stomach. He squirmed and laughed from the odd feeling before the fox popped its head out from under his collar and stared back at him with its tongue lolling out playfully.

"Ok, out of my clothes. You can sit on my shoulder," he said with a laugh and it exclaimed back with a small yip of happiness before clawing its way out. But instead of his shoulder, it continued up to his mob of yellow hair where it comfortably laid down.

"Or that," the blond said with a shrug as he continued on, the fox barely weighing anything so he didn't really feel it.

He continued walking on through the forest and then back into town, finally ending at his small apartment. He quickly got out his keys and no sooner had he opened the door did the fox shot back into his clothes then out his pant leg before darting into the room. Naruto blinked in surprise before shooting after it.

"Hey, yo! Fox! GET BACK HERE!" he bellowed as he tore after the small and furry animal that was having an extremely fun time running through his apartment, sniffing or jumping on things as it went.

It sprung onto his bed, where Naruto jumped right after and grabbed it in his hands. It didn't squirm and only looked back at him, it's head cocked to the side in curiosity.

"Urgh…maybe I should think twice about getting a pet…"

The black fox's eyes widened and it frantically shook its head, its too large ears flopping back and forth on its head.

"Fine…I mean, how many other animals can understand human talk?" he asked, which made the fox's ears perk up. It stretched its body to lightly lick Naruto on the tip of his nose again, making him smile back at the small creature.

"Why do you lick me so much?" he asked. It only replied by licking him again.

He sighed in exasperation before he placed the fuzz ball back down and walked in the kitchen to fix himself some ramen.

"But I need to call you something," he voiced as he put some water on the stove and took out the last instant ramen bowl around. The fox jumped onto the counter and smelled the ramen in interest.

"The only thing I can think of is fox…or Kitsune."

He looked up and found that the fox was nodding vigorously and its mouth was stretched out as if it was smiling, a few fangs poking out.

"You want simple _Kitsune_?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright then," he said with a shrug as he started to pour the water into the styrofoam bowl, but as clumsy as he sometimes was, he accidentally poured the water on one of a few of his fingers.

Kitsune yipped as he cursed, but then jumped over to him and started quickly licking his wet fingers, and Naruto watched in amazement as the flaming up burn quickly disappeared and his fingers were back to normal, maybe even better then before.

His eyes widened as he flexed his fingers and looked over to Kitsune who had started lapping at the ramen broth.

"How did you do that?"

The black fox only continued drinking the liquid, but looked over at him for a second with a mischievous gleam in its brown eyes.

"Fine, _don't_ tell me," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes, forgetting for a second that Kitsune couldn't talk back.

"Now, let me check if you're a girl or boy..." he drifted off as he reached for the small animal.

But Kitsune jumped back in the last second with spiked hair, as if offended by his questioning.

"You must be a girl," Naruto laughed.

**-**

"And here is the grocery store," Naruto said to Kitsune as she sat on his head again, the fox giving a small high-pitched yip as confirmation.

"Naruto, Hey Naruto!"

Naruto turned around and smiled when he saw Sakura waving her hand to him with Sasuke and Kakashi in tow.

"And that, right there, is the most beautiful girl _ever,_" Naruto drooled as Kitsune's eyes darkened.

"Where were you yesterday?" she asked in a bubbly voice as she and Naruto's other teammates came up to him, Sasuke looking bored and Kakashi reading his special orange book.

"I could ask you the same," Naruto growled as he shot a death glare to both Kakashi and Sasuke.

"What do you have there on your head Naruto?" Kakashi asked, not even looking up from his precious book.

"Oh! I want you guys to meet Kitsune!" Naruto said happily as he reached up and took Kitsune off the perch of his head and held it out for the other three people to see.

Kitsune starred blankly at the new people, but winced when she heard Sakura's high-pitched scream.

"Oh my GOD Naruto, it's so cute! Where did you find it?!" Sakura gushed as she grabbed Kitsune from Naruto's grasp, squeezing her a little tighter then Kitsune liked.

Finally having enough of her death grip and poking, Kitsune bit her and jumped out of her grasp, only to be caught by Sasuke by its fluffy tail, which made up for about half the body length.

He held it up to his face and examined it.

"Just as I thought. A girl fox, the only feminine attention Naruto would ever get."

Naruto was about to shoot back but Sasuke just flung Kitsune back into his arms.

"EEEE! It BIT me!" Sakura screamed as she inspected the small half moon on her hand that was barely bleeding "It probably has rabies too!"

"Sorry Sakura-chan! It won't happen again, right Kitsune?" Naruto asked in a commanding voice, but Kitsune only looked away with her head held up high.

"And anyway, she can heal it if she licks you! She did it to me!" Naruto tried to explain as he held Kitsune out to Sakura again, Kitsune trying to squirm away from the pink haired tween.

"Keep that disease infested animal away from me! And who would believe something crazy like that?!" Sakura squealed in a high tone, making Kitsune twitch again in aggravation at the high frequency.

"She can understand us too! She knows human talk!" Naruto continued to whine as he tried to push Kitsune back into Sakura's arms, which was making both the females increasingly aggravated.

"Hm…may I see that fox, or Kitsune as you say, Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he held out one of his large hands.

Naruto hesitated for a second before lightly transferring his precious bundle over to his sensei.

"Interesting…" Kakashi said as he lifted his forehead protector to reveal his swirling red eye and focused on the small animal that was currently cowering under his intensive gaze.

"One thing's for sure, this fox isn't exactly _normal,_" the Copy-Nin simply stated as he handed the animal back to Naruto. Being relieved to be back with her master, she ducked into his collar and peeped her head out, Naruto not minding one bit.

"Here's something that will keep her, hopefully, under control and you'll be able to find her at all times. You can call her anywhere if you're the one that puts it on her," Kakashi said as he presented Naruto will a simple black leather collar that had one round buckle.

"It'll always stay on and will adjust to whatever size her neck is, because she looks young and will grow. It was for one of my dogs but I think you need it more," he continued to reveal as he handed the collar to Naruto.

"Thanks sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he gratefully accepted the gift and stowed it in his pocket for further use, Kitsune watching the transfer carefully.

"Sorry kiddies, but that's all for today. See you tomorrow at the usual bridge," Kakashi said as he waved goodbye, his slick attitude not bothering Naruto one bit today because of the worthy gift.

Sasuke only 'hm'ed before he started walking off, Sakura following quickly after.

Naruto looked at his retreating teammates with a tinge of loneliness. But it was quickly displaced as he felt the soft fur from Kitsune rub against his neck and chin, the small animal still resting snuggly between his collar and neck.

"Come on, let's find something to eat," he said as he stretched his hands to lazily sit on his head and started walking, or more like strutting, in a direction neither Sasuke and Sakura nor Kakashi had taken, Kitsune neatly peeking out from his collar.

**-**

"Kitsune is _NOTHING_ like that flee infested Akumaru!" Naruto yelled, loud enough for the entire town of Konoha to hear.

He had gone to the ramen shop, only to find a few of his old school mates there, including Kiba, Shino, Choji, and Shikamaru. They'd immediately noticed his new pet and Kiba had wrongly stated that he was starting to copy him.

Kitsune only continued to sit in his collar, lightly sleeping.

"She'd kick Akumaru's butt any day!" Naruto stated with a finger pointed at the small dog that sat on Kiba's head that growled back and attempted to bit off the blond's extended finger.

"This is such a drag, just make them fight. The winner's obviously the best," Shikamaru sighed as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, patiently waiting for his ramen.

"You're on."

"Lets finish this," both the owners answered as they placed their pet down, Naruto shaking Kitsune awake.

Akumaru started barking and ran at her, Kitsune obviously surprised as her massive tail poofed out and she ran for it, weaving in between the various stools as Akumaru continued to chase her.

"Kitsune!" Naruto yelled in worry, failing to notice before how Akumaru was bigger and obviously weighed twice as much as her. And for a fleeting second, he worried that she'd run away.

He waited in anticipation for a few seconds before he saw them run back their way, Kitsune still being tailed by Akumaru who was snapping at her long tail.

Naruto crouched down and held out his hands as an indication for her to jump up and she did with a great bound and he quickly stood up. All Akumaru could do now was yip up at Kitsune, being smart enough to not attack Naruto.

"Ha! I _win_!" Kiba exclaimed as Akumaru walked back to his master with his head and tail held high.

"_Peh_, Kitsune just didn't think that_ f__lea infested_ creature was worth her time," Naruto shot back as he soothed Kitsune who was curled around his neck and was slightly shivering.

"Doubt it. _That_ thing's so scrawny it couldn't win against a mouse!" Kiba barked out in amusement as Akumaru yapped along.

Naruto snorted before he turned away and started to walk away from the ramen shop, suddenly losing his appetite, and leaving behind a gloating Kiba.

"I know you could've kicked that mutt's ass," Naruto said, but with slight disappointment obvious in his voice.

Kitsune looked up and could easily see his pride had just gone through a serious set back. She boldly unwound herself from his neck and jumped to the ground, shooting back towards the restaurant stand.

Naruto shot after, and got there just in time as he saw her growling and snarling at Akumaru who was barking back, looking as if they were conversing.

"Rematch already?" Kiba snorted, but cut short his bantering when he looked down at Kitsune. She now had sharp, long claws. The hair on her back started to turn a ghostly silver and was sticking up as she pulled back her lip to reveal a straight line of razor sharp fangs and teeth.

In a split second, she pounced on Akumaru who whined loudly as she started to chase him.

Naruto laughed as he saw Kiba's face obviously pale as he watched his beloved dog being chased around by something half its size and weight. Finally, Akumaru jumped up Kiba's leg with a few cuts on his face and body.

This time, it was Kitsune who proudly strutted back over to Naruto. He gently picked her up and watched with amazement as her claws retracted and her fangs went back to their regular small size, the small tuff or silver on her back turning back to black.

"Told ya so," Naruto shot to the three shocked boys before walking back out, his pride now better then ever.

**-**

"Ok, so I've decided that you're worthy of being the pet of the next Hokage!" Naruto said with a grin as he sat at his small table. After the fight, they'd gone to the grocery store and had gotten more ramen and milk.

Kitsune looked up at him with big eyes and what looked like a smile again. So without further ado, Naruto put down his chopsticks and took out the collar, intending to put it around her neck. Kitsune starred at it warily before she shot away, Naruto quickly following after.

"Come on, Kitsune! Come here!" he yelled as he slid into the kitchen and tried to grab the small animal as it ran across the counter, plates and dishes shattering.

"Got ya!" he said as he panted, the small animal now in his grasp after at least ten minutes of chasing her.

He held her securely as he put the collar on and fastened the circular buckle. It immediately fit to the size of her small neck and the buckle transformed into a simple silver ring with the leather connected at both sides. Naruto put her back down on the table with a smirk as he inspected his small companion.

Kitsune looked at it curiously for a second before looking up at him and did what seemed like a sigh, leaning over so she could lick him on the nose again.

"It's only so I can find and call you if you get lost or if I need help," he said with a smile as he grabbed the bowl of empty ramen and threw it into the trash.

"Well, time for bed!" he ordered as he looked at the clock and found that it was around nine thirty, and even though it wasn't really late, he was tired from his odd sleeping time from yesterday.

So he quickly undressed into a fresh pair of boxers, deciding to have a shower tomorrow, and jumped into bed, Kitsune following quickly after onto his stomach.

"Night," he murmured before his loud snores began and the duo drifted off into sleep.

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 1!**

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**Preview for:**

**Episode 2 : A New Face In An Unexpected Place  
**

_Naruto groaned as he heard a knocking on his apartment door, not wanting to greet the morning just yet._

_He felt around for his blanket to throw over his body and block out the inferring sunlight and noise, but instead his fingers brushed against something that didn't feel anything at all like cotton; something smooth and warm..._


	2. A New Face In An Unexpected Place

_**A/N:** So yesterday, I was watching the Naruto movie on TV and I thought, hey! I should update my own Naruto story! So here it is! __And WOW! I just want to thank everyone whose reviewed _: Dragon of Twilight, C.O.K., noname (anon.), egamtaerg, ApexPredator, Paul Evans, Tama Saga, and DeExil._ You guys are so awesome and thanks so much for your support and help! Really appreciate it guys and hope you like the next chapter!_

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**Episode 2 : A New Face in an Unexpected Place**

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Naruto groaned as he heard a knocking on his apartment door, not wanting to greet the morning just yet.

He felt around for his blanket to throw over his body and block out the inferring sunlight and noise, but instead his fingers brushed against something that didn't feel anything at all like cotton; something smooth and warm.

He retracted his fingers for a second and then brushed them against the mystery something again, this time slowly opening his eyes. They snapped wide open when he saw a bare back and long curly reddish gold hair that fanned over the pillow.

He was so shocked that he didn't know what to do for a few seconds rather then look at the person before him. But his starring was interrupted when he heard more knocking and he saw the body lightly twitch at the inferring noise before drifted back into sleep, a loud snore as the indication.

So as quietly as he could, he slipped out of his bed and tiptoed over to the door just as the person was going to knock again.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed in relief as he saw his teacher, but in a hushed whisper.

"Naruto, about that collar I gave you-" the silver haired ninja started in his normal tone of voice, but Naruto started talking to him in another hushed voice.

"No time! Come! Look!" Naruto tried to interrupt, but Kakashi just continued and ignored his pleas.

"The problem is, that when you put that on it may never be able to come back off, so just make sure your fox really is going to stay with you. That's all. See you at practice," he said quickly, waved his hand once, and then turned around and disappeared, leaving a gaping Naruto in the doorway alone.

He slowly closed his door and winced when he heard the loud creek. He tiptoed back into his kitchen and peaked his head around the wall, finding that the mystery person was still there.

Slowly walking up to his bed and squatting down so that he was level with the person again, he held down a gasp as he saw the person lightly groan and then pull the blanket up to their shoulders before flipping over, their face now revealed to Naruto.

This time, Naruto couldn't hold in his small squeak as he saw the face of a girl. She had long bangs that fell around her closed eyes, freckles that brushed her cheeks, and light pink lips that were slightly parted as she breathed. He couldn't help but lean forward and lightly brush some of her bangs from her face for a better view, his fingers skimming her skin in the process and making the girl smile and himself shiver from the odd tingling feeling.

He looked over her tanned face, trying to think of where she could have come from, before he noticed something around her neck. His eyes widened when he recognized it as the collar he'd given Kitsune just yesterday.

"You've _got_ to be _kidding_ me," he blurted out loudly to himself without thinking.

The sudden noise made the girl's eyes snap open and look back into his startled blue ones with creamy hazel.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, only blinking, before the girl leaned over and lightly licked him on his nose. And that's what finally snapped Naruto.

"AHHHH!" he yelled as he fell over onto his back and attempted to scramble away.

The girl looked at him curiously before she looked down at her hands and the hair that fell into her eyes.

"SHIT!" she yelled, losing her balance while looking down and accidentally falling off the bed, landing in a tangled heap of blanket and limbs on the floor with a thud where Naruto had been only seconds before, but was now up against a nearby wall breathing heavily.

"Who're _YOU_?!" Naruto continued to yell as he pointed an accusing finger her way.

"I'm Kitsune," she sighed as she stood up on shaky legs, the blanket held tightly to cover up her naked body.

"The fox?! YEAH _RIGHT_!" Naruto continued, still slightly panting from the shock.

The girl sighed and closed her eyes as she rubbed her temples with a hand.

"I hate it when I transform…_stupid_ full moon…" she mumbled to herself softly before looking back up to a still terrified ninja-in-training.

"I fought that mean little white dog yesterday, Sakura almost squeezed me to death, and Kakashi gave you this collar that you put on me yesterday," she said the main events of yesterday slowly so Naruto would believe her.

"You've GOT to be _SERIOUSLY_ kidding me," Naruto growled his repeated phrase as he watched her go to his drawer that held his clothes.

"I wouldn't kid with you Naruto…you are my master now," she said with a small smile as she yanked the collar that was now a chocker for her that fit perfectly around her neck, the singular silver circle still shining.

"I still don't understand. One day I have an awesome fox and then next a girl naked in my bed?" Naruto sighed to himself as he slouched down the wall and started knocking his head against the hard wall.

"Do I still call you Kitsune?" he groaned after she'd finished changing in his bathroom and had walked out in one of his orange outfits. But the pants were loose and rested low on her hips and only went up to her knees and the jacket sleeves came up a few inches past her elbows. The jacket was also short and showed off a good amount of midriff from her lanky frame.

"Well, that is my original name, even before you named me," she said with a grin, large canines still apparent.

"So where are you from?" Naruto asked as he too got up and dressed, throwing on a matching orange suite.

"To tell the truth I really have no idea. All I can remember is being raised by foxes ever since I was little. That's really where my name comes from."

"Is that how you turn into a fox too?" Naruto continued to ask as he zipped up his jacket.

"I don't know…it just happens every full moon of the month. It's not really my choice," Kitsune explained as she got up and walked towards him.

"I hope we can start again, Naruto," She said with sincerity as she held out one of her large hands. Naruto looked at it for a second and then to her radiant face before shaking her hand and smiled up at her, noticing that she was at least five inches taller then him.

"So what do you want to do?" Naruto asked as he starred up at her.

"Can we get me some other clothes? I don't want to take all of yours..." Kitsune drifted off.

Naruto sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes before going to the front door, a happy Kitsune skipping after him.

**-**

"That went well," Kitsune said happily as she looked over at Naruto who held two large bags of stuff she'd gotten with Naruto's money, much to his disappointment. But she promised that she'd pay him back, with interest too.

"Where to next?" Kitsune said happily as she clasped her hands together.

"I dunno. How about lets go do something _fun_?!" He asked as he tried to position the heavy bags on his shoulders.

"Hey, you're a ninja too, right? Don't you have to train?" Kitsune thought out loud as she saw some teenagers walk by with the traditional green vest, symbolizing them as chunin.

Naruto stopped his walking and his eyes bulged out before he dropped the bags and tried to run away, but Kitsune caught him by the collar.

"I have to train with my teeeeeam!" he yelled as he tried run away, but was only succeeding in digging a hole with his quickly moving feet.

"Well, why don't you go and I'll meet you there?" Kitsune asked as he finally stopped and turned around to look at her.

"You wanna train with us?" Naruto asked with a small quirk of his yellow-topped head.

"Sure, why not? Haven't done anything in two days and I feel like a lazy ass, I need to do something!" she laughed as she grabbed the bags.

"I'll see you there, ok? I'll sniff you out," she said with a smile as she touched her nose.

He quickly nodded and then sprinted off, leaving a waving Kitsune behind.

Without much else distracting her way to the apartment she got there quickly with her long strides. And instead of using the stairs and door, she simply jumped from the road into the open window when no one was looking.

She quickly put on a lacy black bra and matching panties that she'd gotten before putting back on the orange jacket and pants from this morning, still refusing to wear shoes. She looked in the mirror and noticed how much the jacket revealed her stomach, but when she tied to yank it down it did nothing. So with a sigh she jumped out the window again and started walking down the street.

"I can't believe this is happening…" She thought out loud to herself while feeling the smooth leather of the collar as she walked in the streets, various people giving her odd looks from her appearance and because they didn't know who she was, never seeing her before.

"Hello there. How are you Miss?" Kitsune turned around to the voice and gasped when she saw the old man who had spoken to her.

"H-Hello," she stuttered as she bowed, having enough experience and knowledge to notice the very important hat that symbolized he was Hokage sitting on top of his head.

"Where do you come from?" the old Hokage asked, noticing she didn't have a forehead protector and inwardly wondering if that was indeed Naruto's regular orange suit.

"I'm not from anywhere, I'm a wanderer. I usually live in the wild," she said as she tried to show respect, not confident enough to make eye contact with him.

"I see. May I please know your name then?"

"Kitsune, sir," she whispered as she continued to fidget.

"Well then, Kitsune. Will you please accompany me so I can ask you some questions? I just want to make sure everyone's safe with you around. You understand, right?" Sarutobi asked delicately as he started to walk away, motioning for her to follow.

She nodded and gulped as she followed him, eyes starring at the dirt that was gathering on her bare feet.

**-**

"That was a good practice!" Naruto laughed as he lay down on the short grass in exhaustion, his chest going up and down with his deep breathing.

"So, Naruto, how's that fox of yours doing? She didn't come with you today," Kakashi noted as he jumped down from his tree perch to stand with his three pupils.

"About that…" Naruto groaned as he sat up, Sakura and Sasuke joining him on the ground.

"Turns out she's a _human_ girl," he said simply with a shrug of his shoulders, "I found out when I woke up with her naked in my bed. You actually woke me up Kakashi-sensei, if you'd come in like I asked you would've seen her too." He finished with a nod of his head.

There was a moment of silence as Naruto looked at the rest of his team who stared back at him, not even blinking.

"Wow Naruto, that _really_ made my day," Kakashi said as he turned back to his book and shook his head lightly, making a mental note to make sure Naruto was still sane later.

"Naruto, you shouldn't lie," Sakura scolded as she waggled her finger in his face.

"I'm telling the truth!" he exclaimed as he raised his arms.

"Shut-up dope, if it is true, then why isn't she here right now?" Sasuke snorted before standing up, Naruto following in a second.

"Oh, shit!" he swore, remembering Kitsune saying it this morning.

"Naruto!" Kakashi scolded.

"Sorry, but she was suppose to meet me here. She must have gotten lost," Naruto said as the feeling of worry started to creep up.

"_Or_ she got kidnapped," Kakashi said in a straight voice as he casually flipped a page.

"NOT HELPING sensei!" Naruto yelled before he started to sprint towards the village, but only got to the edge of the clearing before he heard a voice.

"I'm here Naruto," a feminine voice echoed, making Team 7, excluding Naruto, visibly tense.

"Kitsune! Ya alright?" Naruto asked as he tried to look for her in the trees.

"For better or worse," she said back, still not revealing where she was hiding.

"I was just about to go find you, nobody did anything to you, did they?" Naruto growled, making Kitsune giggle.

"It's alright, Master!" she laughed as she finally revealed herself as she jumped down and landed on Naruto with a thump.

"Hey!" Naruto groaned as she sat on his stomach and starred down at him for a second with big brown eyes before lightly licking him on the nose and then getting off of him.

"Why do you still lick me again?" Naruto asked with slight irritation as he wiped his nose with his orange sleeve.

"You don't like it?" she asked with slouched shoulders.

"Peh. Do whatever you want," He said with a slight blush at the converstation, making Kitsune visibly perk up. "Anyway, there's my team, as you already know," Naruto said with a breathe of laughter as he realized they'd already meet.

"Wanna meet them for real?" he asked as she looked across to them, the two tweens and teacher looking right back with a mixture of confusion and trepidation.

"Yes, very much!" she squealed before taking his hand and quickly walking over to the team, Naruto being practically dragged along.

"See? Told you I wasn't lying," Naruto smirked as he stood in front of his team with Kitsune, each showing surprise in their own way.

"And the collar you gave me? _Right_ there," the blond continued to say as he pulled back the jacket collar and pointed to her neck where the silver ring slightly shimmered.

There was silence for a few awkward seconds as Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi just starred at Kitsune, making her start to feel self-conscious.

"Um…Hi?" she said meekly as she waved her hand, trying to get them out of their shocked expressions.

"Peh. Ugly as hell," Sasuke finally snorted as she made eye contact with his onyx eyes.

"What?!" Kitsune exploded in his face, "Take it back bastard!" she continued to yell as she cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"A _fat lard_. That's all you are," he said as he continued to show his back to her.

"Don't blame me for your injuries," she snapped and he was about to comment back, but was cut off when he felt a hard kick to the middle of his back, sending him sprawling a few feet before he was jerked up by his collar, angry hazel eyes starring back for a second before he was chucked into a nearby tree, breaking it in half.

"Sorry, but you made me do it," she sighed as she turned back and started walking over to Naruto who had a huge smile plastered on his whiskered face. Kakashi had a raised eyebrow and Sakura was looking as if she was in the middle of a heart attack.

"That was _awesome_!" Naruto yelled as he hugged her around her stomach.

"Really?" she squealed as she hugged him back. She failed to notice, though, that because of the height difference, his face was getting squished in her chest which was making Naruto lightly blush.

"Sasuke-_kuuuun_!" Sakura yelled in worry before sprinting over to him, who was yet to re-emerge from the foliage.

"Well, that sure was _-ahem-_ interesting," Kakashi stated as he looked her over again and tried to read her chakra, finding that it was overflowing her thin frame.

"Since you're new, did you see the Hokage?" Kakashi asked as he ignored the hysterical scream of Sakura as she found Sasuke's unconscious body.

"Yeah, that's why I was late. He and others asked me a bunch of questions and then took some of my blood with a huge needle," she shivered as she remembered the horrible sight and feeling.

"Anyway, it's all good now. So what do you want to do Naruto?" she asked as she turned to him, a smile still on her face.

He rubbed his chin as he tried to think of something, but then his stomach suddenly growled loudly.

"I think I'll go with ramen."

Kitsune was about to agree, but before she could, her stomach growled too, maybe even louder then Naruto's.

"I think I have to agree with you?" Kitsune said as she rubbed her flat stomach, her long bangs bouncing around her face as she nodded her agreement too.

"Bye Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said as he started to walk away with Kitsune towards town, both of them giving the silver haired shinobi a final wave.

"Wow, that was odd…Naruto has a girl friend, and one whose older and fairly pretty…" he paused for a second as his visible eye widened. "_It must be a sign of the end of the world._"

**-**

"Hey Naruto?" Kitsune whispered to Naruto as they walked in the streets, almost half the people giving them odd looks and whispering to themselves.

"Yeah?" he answered, slightly irked at how she had to lean down to whisper at his level. He _needed_ to grow dammit.

"Why do people keep giving us odd looks?" she asked as they took a turn, the last street until the ramen shop.

"People just really hate me. For reasons unknown," he stated blandly as he shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked up a little dirt.

"It's kinda the same with me," Kitsune laughed bitterly as she slouched her shoulders and crossed her arms, showing body language similar to Naruto.

"Why?" Naruto asked in surprise, snapping his head to look up at her solemn face.

"Reasons unknown too," She forcefully laughed, but he could tell that she was hiding something. Obviously she was a bad liar with this subject.

"Hey! We're here!" she stated with glee as she saw the steaming store come into view, a few people already at the stools.

"What flavor are you going to get?" Naruto asked as they sat down, chopsticks given to them right away.

"There are different flavors?" Kitsune asked with a tilt of her head.

"Course! That's what makes it so great! Here, I'll order for you!" he said with happiness as he waved down Ayame to take his orders.

"We'll have two orders of chicken flavor, extra noodles!" he said with a huge smile as the pretty girl took their orders, benevolent eyes falling on Kitsune.

"Hello! Are you new?" Ayame asked as she placed her notebook back in her apron.

"Uh…yeah," Kitsune slightly stumbled, but ended with a huge smile.

"Father! Come here!" the daughter yelled and the older man was there in a flash.

"Ah…A new face, hm? What's your name pretty lady?" he asked, Naruto watching with a smile on his cheery face.

"Kitsune, sir."

"Well, Kitsune. Everything's free for you tonight, especially since you seem to be Naruto's friend. Eat all you want, we'll put some meat on those bones," he joked before he turned back to get the other orders.

"Your order will be ready in just a few minutes," Ayame smiled before turning away to help others.

"Lucky!" Naruto exclaimed as he leaned back on his stool, a foxy grin on his young face that Kitsune could only shyly smile back to. "See, I don't see how anyone can hate you," he laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, a light blush on his cheeks, not being used to giving such open complements.

"And I don't get how anyone can hate _you_ Naru-chan!" she said back sweetly as her smile grew, making Naruto's blush go deeper.

"Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom, be right back," Naruto said as he jumped up and left, leaving Kitsune alone at the booth temporarily. She absently twiddled with her thumbs before she took her chopsticks and broke them, having watched Naruto do it before. She smiled when she saw them break perfectly in half.

"Hey there, how're you doing?"

She jumped when she heard the voice and turned to see, oddly, Kiba sitting in Naruto's seat.

"Fine?" she asked, surprised to see him again, glancing down at Akumaru that peeked out of his furry jacket. The dog seemed to know it was her and was doing a mix of a growl and whimper.

"Like dogs?" he questioned with a lazy smile, his own canines visibly peaking out.

Kitsune starred at him with wide eyes, being caught staring, before quickly shaking her head, thinking the exact opposite.

"Kiba, what the hell are you doing?" Shikamaru asked as he approached, Kitsune's eyes widening as she recognized his face too.

"Wow, new face huh?" he asked with eyes half open as he looked at Kitsune who just blinked back.

"Hey! _BACK OFF_!"

Shikamaru and Kiba jumped slightly before looking behind them to find Naruto standing, blue eyes glinting dangerously.

"_Pfft_, it's not like she's yours, idiot," Kiba snorted, making Kitsune wrinkle her nose slightly.

"Actually," She started smoothly, making the three boys look her way, "I'm on a _date _with him right now," she stated proudly with a glint in her eyes, making all the boys, including Naruto, gape at the breezy statement.

"Now, if you'll be so kind as to get out of Naruto-_sama_'s seat, that'd be great," she said with a slightly forced smile towards Kiba. He immediately got up in a daze and Naruto pushed him away as he sat down back in his stool.

"Now _shoo,_" Naruto ordered as he waved his hand, a proud smirk on his face; Shikamaru and Kiba so shocked that they actually started walking away.

"Wow, that was odd, yet satisfying," Naruto laughed, as he rubbed his head again, eyes glancing over to Kitsune who was still watching their retreating forms.

"Are they always that..._cold_ to you?" she asked, having a hard time finding the right word, as she turned back to Naruto, Kiba and Shikamaru having taken a turn on the street and out of sight.

"Yeah, they can be a pain sometimes, but I know they're really good deep down," he laughed, Kitsune smiling at his naïve optimism.

"Here ya go you two!" Ayame said happily as she put down two huge steaming bowls of ramen, both of them forgetting about the previous incident immidatly.

"Wow! It smells _delicious_!" Kitsune gushed as she put her face in the steam, smiling at the warmth it gave to her face.

"Hey! You broke your chopsticks perfectly in half!" Naruto said as he grabbed her two chopsticks. "It means good luck!" he told as he gave them back to her and broke his too, his own breaking cleanly in two also. "Guess we're both having good luck!" he laughed before he started to eat.

Kitsune watched for a few seconds as he quickly ate with his chopsticks, herself trying to mimic, but soon found it difficult.

Naruto looked over and saw her having trouble and smiled, remembering how Iruka taught him how to use chopsticks.

"Here," he said as he put down his own chopsticks and grabbed her hands, ignoring the slight tingling that happened when their skin touched, but it obviously made Kitsune slightly jump.

"You put your fingers around um like this," the blond taught as he situated her fingers correctly, herself slightly blushing from the contact.

"Now try!" he said as she slowly got a few noodles and slurped them up, eyes perking up at the delicious taste.

"Wow! It tastes much better since I'm not a fox anymore!" She exclaimed as she looked down at the bowl again before whole heartedly digging in.

"Knew you'd like it!" Naruto said with slight smugness as he returned to his own bowl.

**-**

**-**

**END OF EPISODE 2!**

**-**

**Preview for :**

**Episode 3 : Let the Chunin Exams Begin!**

_"What're you talking about Kakashi-sensei?! Kitsune is going to be in them too?!" Naruto exclaimed as Kitsune stood next to him and Team 7, a thoughtful look on her pretty face..._

_**-**_


	3. Let the Chûnin Exams Begin!

_**A/N:** So I just want to say...I had NO idea I would get so many reviews, so thanks a lot to: _actionliker, Kaiya Reimiya, xoxSylerxox, Ranpuryu_, _DeExil, Morgan Daratranzanoff, egamtaerg, ApexPredator, LightingFox101, Dragon Man 180, Empty Bottle, Dragon of Twilight, _and_ Han-Ko!! _Thanks so much for everyone's support and enthusiasm in this story! This chapter is up because of you awesome people reviewing, I hope this measures up to everyone's expectations!_

**-**

**-**

**Episode 3 : Let the Chûnin Exams Begin!**

**-**

**-**

The past few days that Naruto had spent with Kitsune were full of fun for both of them. They were now known across the town as the supreme pranksters, even getting some young kids to worship them as gods in hope to have the same rebellion skills. Almost everyone in the village area, not even excluding some of the ANBU members, had been played with. And what surprised everyone the most was that they were the best at escaping, the only person so far to catch them was Iruka, who a majority of their pranks were played on. And then, without fail (if they weren't in Iruka prison), they'd go to the ramen shop for dinner with some money that they'd conned off someone in various ways.

The two rebels had just meet at the bridge this morning with Sakura and Bastard (Sasuke) for what they thought was another training session, but then Kakashi had dropped the information of the Chûnin Exams, but then some even more interesting information on that same subject that had surprised all the pupils of Team 7, plus Kitsune, to an extreme.

"What're you talking about Kakashi-sensei?! Kitsune is going to be in them too?!" Naruto exclaimed as Kitsune stood next to him, a thoughtful look on her face.

"If she so desires…its special orders from the Hokage himself. Nothing like this has ever happened in all the Chûnin Exams I've seen, but who knows," Kakashi said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But I recommend that you talk to the Hokage before you begin," Kakashi added his advice in to Kitsune before passing out the requirement papers.

"Hell yeah! I'll go do that now!" Kitsune gushed as she eagerly grabbed the paper and read over the information that needed to be given, but found that she couldn't fill anything in except for her first name. And even that she didn't know how to write.

"Um…I don't know this stuff," Kitsune admitted with a little chagrin as she smiled up at the taller Copy Ninja that she'd seen a lot of, and his high skill level, as she had sat in on a few of their training sessions in the past few days.

"What an idiotic lard," Sasuke snorted as Sakura giggled a little, making Kitsune's face darken, wondering if it was illegal here to rip someone's arm of in 'self defense.' She had thought by the eight time she'd pummeled Sasuke in to hard objects and with her fists, it'd gone through his thick skull to not insult her, but she guessed not. So, next step? Maiming…or castration.

"That's why you're going to see the Hokage," Kakashi interrupted her evil laughter that had started from her 'happy' thoughts and plans.

"Fine, I'm gone, I'm gone," she groaned with an emphasized wave of one of her large hands.

"But before I go…" she said with a smirk as she eyed Naruto who stood next to her, who warily raised an eyebrow back, knowing what was to come because she did this every time they'd leave, even if it was for a few minutes.

"Bye Master!" she gushed before cupping his face closer to her and rubbing noses with him for a few seconds. With her tradition goodbye done, she bounded off and disappeared from sight a second later.

Naruto grinned like an idiot as he shuffled his feet a little, a the slightest blush on his cheeks, before looking back up and finging his team mates, including Kakashi, looking at him with wide eyes.

"It really IS the end of the world," Kakashi muttered, and gasped when a horrible thought passed through his mind.

"I must save my precious books!" he exclaimed before he disappeared in likes to Kitsune, leaving the three genin to stare at each other in confusion and annoyance, knowing it was really just an excuse to ditch the three of them.

**-**

"Alright, bring in the next person," Sarutobi groaned as he rubbed his head with a wrinkled hand, trying to fight away the migraine he'd gained from doing villager complaints today.

I mean, who _REALLY_ gave a _damn_ if there was a peacock waking people up at three am in the morning? It didn't mean he had to send _goddamn ANBU __members_ to deal with the annoying bird full of _shit_…

"Hey old man! How's it going?" Kitsune questioned, interrupting his thoughts, as she sauntered into one of the guest chairs, even going as far as to prop her feet up on his highly polished desk.

"Kitsune, even though you're on fairly good terms with this village, you cannot, by _any_ means, treat any of us, especially _me_, in _nothing_ less than a formal way," he informed as he lowered his old eyes to stare into her youthful ones who were trying to look as innocent as ever (like he didn't know about her pranks- half the complaints today were about her and Naruto).

At the sight of his obviously stressed face and slight glaring, her eyes lowered in pity for the over worked man and she removed her feet from the desk and sat up straight, now showing respect.

"Now, what can I do for you?" the Hokage asked as he moved his eyes to some paper work he was suppose to have already read.

"I wanna go in the Chûnin Exams like you suggested, Gramps. But I don't know any of the stuff on this paper. I don't have a last name and I don't even know my own birthday," she said with a sigh, thinking of how sad her knowledge of her own personal history was.

"It's alright, don't worry about the paper work, leave it to me," he said with a smile, Kitsune eagerly smiling back as she handed over the paper that had her name messily written on it, Naruto having to write it because she didn't know how.

"I can't wait to find out which village I belong to!" she said as she leaned back and hugged her legs to her chest. "This is so great! I'm really glad that I found Naru-chan!" she said with a warm smile as small canines showed.

"Yes, miracles do happen," Sarutobi laughed, noticing how her bubbly personality was very close the village's number-one-knuckle-headed-ninja that she'd just mentioned, and he wondered for a brief moment, if she'd become the second.

"Now, why don't you go find your new friend and have some fun, the exams start tomorrow. Here's the directions, and a note explaining by me that allows you to participate if the instructors have doubts," he explained as he handed her two different papers back.

"Thanks Gramps!" Kitsune said as she quickly leaned over the desk, grabbed the papers, and leaped out the window.

"She's a strange one, that's for sure," he thought out loud as he looked out the window and watched her bound over the roofs until a protruding pipe caught her foot and she fell into an alley way, making the old man slightly wince.

But his eyes became solemn as he took out a vanilla folder and opened it to reveal the contents inside. It neatly had a picture of Kitsune with a big goofy grin, fingerprints, hand and foot prints, and then had various charts and information about her physical being, height way above the average and weight under. His eyes finally fell on the blood analysis he'd taken from her, which was very interesting.

He closed it again before sighing, the odd blood data that he'd gotten the exact reason why he wanted her to participate in the exams even if he was deeply looked down on for the action. He _needed t_o see if his hypothesis on her origins was right. Because if it was...

**-**

"NARUTO! NARUTO! NARUT_OOOO_!" Kitsune yelled as she walked around the streets, calling for her best, and _only_ at the time, friend.

"NARUTO, _COME ON OUT_!" she bellowed with all her might in a not so lady like voice that caused nearby villagers to wince and some to drop things.

"Where could my Naru-chan be…" she sulked to herself as she crossed her arms and stomped through the village, people giving her space at the obvious angry chakra that emitted from her body.

She sighed as she came to the bridge Team 7 often meet at. She had been looking for about twenty minutes now and she had decided to have a break. Slumping down on the wood and looking down into the river, she found the clear blue liquid twinkling back up at her, some small fish darting this way and that. She finally locked eyes with her blurry reflection and tilted her head as she saw it slightly flicker.

She leaned closer and gasped when she saw it flicker again, a new girl now starring up at her that had glowing gold eyes and straight, very long silver-white hair that fanned around her pale face, dark red lips twisted a deep smirk that showed off what seemed like razor sharp teeth.

"Kitsune!"

She snapped her head in the direction of Naruto's voice and foxy face, but quickly went back to her reflection in the river to find it was only her regular one, a little flustered and slightly panting.

"You alright?" Naruto asked in concern as he jogged up to her, a worried expression etched on his face.

"I'm fine, just a little headache is all," she lied, feeling a huge migraine thumping in her head, making her want to crack it open with a hammer.

"I could say the same for you though," she thought as she saw his slightly ruffled form and clothes.

"I don't really know what it was, but this guy suddenly came and kidnapped a kid. So, _naturally_, I saved him with my _awesome_ strength," he said with a smirk as he put his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest, making a dramatic pose.

"And I bet that person never wishes he was born now after he messed with _you_!" she laughed as she punched his shoulder, making him exhale his held breath that deflated his chest back to normal.

"Hey! How 'bout in celebration for the Exams, I take you somewhere really special!" Naruto asked as she leaned forward, closer to her face.

"I don't know…" Kitsune mumbled as she felt a fresh stab of pain in her head.

"Come on, it'll be great!" he said as he grabbed her hand and started leading her.

She blinked her eyes as her head banging suddenly stopped and all inferring noise, rather then in the outside world, was gone.

"Sounds great!" she said as she caught up in strides with him, squeezing his hand and marveling at the odd occurrence.

**-**

"Wow…that was _AMAZING_!" Kitsune exclaimed as she stood up and stretched her arms and body as high as it would go.

"Yeah, only me and Iruka know about this spot, one of the best places on earth," Naruto smiled up at Kitsune, still sitting down.

He had, oddly enough, brought her to the top of the Hokage monument, where she quickly learned that sunsets were most beautiful.

"You know what would be great too?" Kitsune asked as she plopped down next to Naruto again.

"What?" he asked with a cute tilt of his head that made Kitsune desperately want to take a picture.

"We should watch the moon and stars come up. I can teach you all the constellations just as my Father Fox did to me!" she said with bright eyes as she turned to the last rays of light that were coming from the horizon.

"It must have been really cool growing up with foxes," Naruto thought as he looked over to her, whose own hazel eyes were still on the last bit of light and the darkening skies.

"Yeah, especially on the cool nights of Autumn when the entire family, fifty four including cousins, came and they all laid down on or around me for body warmth and watched the night sky," she thought with a dreamy expression.

Naruto looked up at the sky and marveled at the interesting image in his head. But when he turned back to Kitsune he found numerous tears running down her face.

"What's wrong Kitsune?!" he asked in alarm as he crouched in front of her, but she just stared back at him with confusion.

"You're _crying_!" he exclaimed and her own eyes widened before she felt her wet cheeks.

"I just miss them so much...I didn't even notice I was crying," she choked out with a strained laugh as she lowered her head.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said as his complexion softened before he wiped away some of the tears from her eyes.

"But make the best of life! Never keep going forward!" he tried to further encourage with a strained smile, her down mood affecting his own emotions, as he lifted a fist and lightly knocked it on her shoulder in an attempt to knock her out of her depressed attitude.

"Yeah," she agreed shakily as she looked up at his bright face before rubbing her cheeks vigorously with her sleeves to get rid of the tears.

"Sorry about that, I really hate it when I cry," she nervously admitted as she leaned back, finally noticing that their faces were mere inches away from each other.

"Yeah, someone as cute as you shouldn't be sad," Naruto admitted softly as he moved a curly lock of hair that had escaped from her pigtail that had been partially covered one of her bright brown eyes.

Kitsne starred back at him for a few seconds as Naruto kept his fingers on her freckled cheek before realization of his actions and words hit, making him retract his hand like he'd burned himself and blush a bright red, stammering nothings as he moved away from her.

"So what about these stars that you love so much?" he finally struggled to ask as he rubbed the back of his neck, a deep blush still on his whiskered cheeks.

Kitsune gave a small smile his way before looking up to the quickly darkening sky to find the first few stars of the night gleaming back.

**-**

"_Finally_, the dope shows up," Sasuke muttered as he stood next to Sakura in front of the building they were suppose to meet at for the Chûnin Exams, various people already going in.

"Sorry I'm late guys!" Naruto lightly panted as he finished his long sprint.

"Where were you? We (Sasuke snorted) were kinda worried because of those attacks yesterday," Sakura admitted as she looked over his face and found nothing looked out of place.

"I'm fine, I was just with Kitsune yesterday," Naruto said lightly but snorted as he eyed Sasuke who had started glaring at him with his statement.

"What's wrong with you, stick higher up your ass then normal?" Naruto growled, feeling the obvious negative energy thrown at him from Sasuke for no reason.

"Shut-up," Sasuke muttered before turning and walking into the building, more ice in his voice then normal.

But Naruto's eyes glanced around one more time before going into the building completely, oddly having yet to see Kitsune today. He had woken up still on the monument, they'd obviously had fallen asleep during some point, and Kitsune was no where to be seen. At first, he panicked, but then had the brilliant idea of searching for her with the collar. So he tried to find where she was, but found he could only feel her dull emotions, which were not in dire trouble. And he had guessed by how high the sun was it was defiantly time to meet his team for the Chûnin Exams at the Hokage building, as they'd planned after Kitsune had gone off to see the Hokage yesterday.

But his paranoia continued as he found the right floor, still no Kitsune. Had battled Lee, still no Kitsune. Had talked to Kakashi, still no Kitsune.

Naruto darted into the room quickly and scanned the large crowd for Kitsune, but still couldn't find her golden-orange head of curly hair or warm face anywhere.

"Ah...look what the cat dragged in."

Naruto looked around, already slightly provoked at his bad day so far, to a smirking Kiba, his two other teammates of team eight behind him, Hinata and Shino.

"Shut the _hell_ up you flea infested mutt!" Naruto yelled with heavy venom in the dog-lover's face, causing a few people to snicker at a wide eyed Kiba.

"Naruto, calm down," Sakura tried to say as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"No!" he snapped, shrugging her hand off, "I want to know where Kitsune is, I haven't seen her all day!" he whined.

"Whose that?" Shikamaru asked as he approached too, Ino and Choji in tow.

"It's this girl," Sakura snorted as she turned away from her teammate, deciding she's done all she could.

"The one at the ramen shop?" Kiba asked with surprise. "You mean you two are _together_?!" he continued to ask in disbelief.

Sasuke glared hard at Naruto, wanting him to answer the question too.

Naruto's face looked a little deflated as he tried to come up with an answer, but ended up only being able to stutter a string of odd noises before sighing in defeat and lowering his head.

"Obviously a _yes,_" Shikamaru smirked. Hinanta, nearby, was looking as if she had just gotten the information that her entire clan was horribly murdered, and Sasuke was looking as if he was gonna go on a killing spree similar to his older brother's soon.

Naruto sighed and could only wait in anticipation for Kitsune to arrive. To tell the truth, he was inwardly wondering if she was cut out for it at all. He'd only seen her do a little bit, and it was what any ninja their age would be able to do. On top of that, her physical being wasn't what you'd normally see in a ninja. She was just as scrawny as Naruto, except she had very long legs that, he soon learned in the first couple days of being with her, made her quite clumsy.

He snorted as he heard the directions to the stupid written test he'd have to take. He was so occupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice Hinata sitting next to him as she twiddled her thumbs absently, still blushing as red as a tomato because of the close proximity to him.

"And further more, if you're caught cheating three times, your entire-" but Ibiki was interrupted as a huge cloud of smoke filled the room and Naruto could faintly see the outline of a person jump through the window.

Finally, the smoke cleared and, much to Naruto's happiness, there stood Kitsune in one of his orange outfits that she had decided was more comfortable then anything else and had decided to always wear, even though it revealed a little more of her tan skin then necessary. Her hair was very curly today, being less then half the length if it was straight, and she'd decided to put it in high, childish pigtails tied with orange ribbons, the curled ends of her bright locks barely reaching her shoulders.

"GIRL!" Ibiki yelled as he advanced on her with a glowering eyes, that one word telling her many things, one of them to obviously leave.

"But I'm here on special orders from the Hokage. You don't want to upset _him_ do you?" she asked sweetly, not at all fazed by his dangerous aura that was making a few students in the front row cower.

"Here, before you explode," she said as she handed over the paper the Hokage had given her yesterday. The scarred instructor quickly read it, a risen eyebrow the only show of emotion to it, before he handed the paper back to her.

"Get this girl a desk." When none of the Chûnin in the room moved, he snapped again. "NOW!"

Kitsune turned to the mass of students that were staring at her and immediately singled Naruto out. "Naru-chan!" she said with excitement as she waved her hand to him and he enthusiastically waved back, relief now flooding through his body.

But their reunion was cut short as Kitsune was seated in a solitary student desk straight in the front. Ibiki quickly finished his instructions and the test was handed out.

'_Well, I'm royally screwed. I don't know any of these questions...' _Kitsune thought to herself as she glanced over the test. _'Nothing to do but wait for the tenth question and HOPE that I can answer it..."_

So she flipped the test over and put her pencil down, signaling she was finished. She stared out the window for a minute or two before a prickling on the back of her neck made her take the blank test paper and throw it in her jacket, having felt someone try to cheat off of her.

"Not today buddie, even if I _did_ have the answers," she chuckled as she crossed her arms and propped her legs up on the desk.

She continued sitting there, waiting for the time limit to finish already. She finally got so bored, she snaked her hand under her jacket and started to feel the smooth leather and ring of the collar that constricting tightly around her neck, but not too tight to be annoying. The cool leather almost felt relaxing and...right. Grabbing the ring, she tried something she'd been dieing to do. She had felt Naruto stretch his own mind and feel her emotions today, so why not she try and do it to him? She closed her brown eyes and tried to do just that. She slightly gasped when she felt the turmoil in his head and intense conflicts of thoughts.

"Hm..." she hummed as she opened her eyes and glanced up to find a few Chûnin looking at her in curiosity. She smiled a large grin, canines poking out, before she closed her eyes and grabbed the cold silver ring with her hand again.

_"Relax Naru-chan...Relax...' _she thought in her head, trying to convey soothing chakra to the young blond headed boy who was obviously struggling. She opened her eyes, breathing deeply, not realizing how much energy was needed for the connection until now. But she closed her eyes again and reached her mind out one more time to find that his mind was still in confusion, but had calmed down slightly. But she didn't get a chance to try it a third time before Ibiki interrupted her.

"Time's _UP_! Time for the tenth question...But first, the rules."

Kitsune groaned, absolutely hating rules and regulations of any kind. But when he had finished, she didn't even blink. She had no team, it didn't matter to her and she didn't _REALLY_ need to be a Chûnin in a village that she was a temporary guest in (for all she knew). She had only wanted to do this to spend more time with Naruto. But she gasped when she felt the loud disordered emotions that were overflowing from Naruto into her.

Her eyes became downcast as she heard the scraping of chairs and various people leave, deeply hoping Naruto wasn't going to fall for it.

"I...will _NEVER_ give up!" She heard him yell his heart out, making her chest swell with pride as she turned around and could faintly see his blue eyes dancing with determination.

"You know it!" she yelled as she jumped up from her seat and lifted a fist to join him.

There was silence for a tense half minute as Naruto and Kitsune glarred at Ibiki before he smiled lightly, "You all pass."

Kitsune blinked a few times before yelling in celebration, back flipping over the desks to Naruto where she gave him a tight hug.

"You did it Naru-chan!" she yelled as almost all eyes were on her and the blushing genin.

"T-Thanks," Naruto gasped out; she was hugging him so tightly it was hard for him to breath.

But she yelped and jumped into Naruto's arms, who was easily able to hold her up because of her fairly light weight, when the window exploded in a loud sound.

"Follow me to the next step in the Chûnin Exams!" Anko exclaimed as she revealed herself in her flashy manner, a simmering Ibiki hidden in the background.

"Ready Naruto?" Kitsune asked as she jumped out from his arms, Naruto feeling disappointment for a brief second at not being able to hold her any more.

"No problem!" he laughed, feeling contentment at the challenge before him.

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 3!**

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**Preview for :**

**Episode 4 : Ready, Set, FIGHT!**

_"That forest doesn't look too bad..." Kitsune thought out loud to Naruto as she starred into the looming trees as they waited in line to sign their waivers, Sasuke and Sakura in front of them._

_"Yeah," Naruto agreed lightly as he saw and heard a small, cheery bird sing on a branch just inside the forest. But he yelped a few moments later when he saw the cute birdie being swallowed by a fifty foot snake that came out of no where before slinking back into the shadows, the innocent bird now only a small lump in it's thick throat._

_"N-Not so ba-bad..." he stuttered as he gulped in anxiety, Kitsune next to him absently humming the tune the bird had been doing, not having seen what Naruto just had._

**-**


	4. Ready, Set, FIGHT!

_**A/N:** Thanks to: _Mark20020, serhoth, sandaime, DeExil, WhatDoYouMeanI'mDrunk, Dragon Man 180, ApexPredator,_ and _Dragon of Twilight _for reviewing! And also thank you _Sotasuken_ for the private messages that are just as good as good as review_s_! As a note I, personally, didn't like the Forest of Death Arc so I cut that out and then I didn't want to waste time on the fights rather then Naruto and Kitsunes, so they're not really typed out. So without further ado, here's the next chapter in Kitsune and Naruto's story, the Chûnin Exams continued! And in this chapter is my first stab at an actual good fight scene, so please enjoy!_

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**Episode 4 : Ready, Set, FIGHT!**

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**-**

"Well, that was a surprisingly uneventful beginning," Kitsune commented as they headed towards the forest.

"Hahaha, you're right Kit-chan, it was _NOTHING,_" Naruto laughed as he lifted his arms above his head lazily and closed his eyes.

"Come on, Naru-chan, I could feel your worry and discomfort a _mile_ away," Kitsune laughed as she slung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her in a friendly manner, inwardly celebrating at the new suffix he'd given her.

Naruto blushed at being caught and hung his head before he jerked it up at Kitsune's laughing, "Don't worry, Naru-chan, I was just joking. What matters is how you finished, and you finished awesome," she continued to laugh as she rubbed his spiky blond hair. "You were the best one in there," she added as she touched noses with him, making his smile only grow.

"It's weird how close they're getting…" Sakura shuttered as she watched Naruto and Kitsune's playful behavior, Sasuke not replying as he continued to glare at the back of Naruto's head.

"NOW! Sigh these waivers so we're not responsible for your deaths!" Anko yelled to the gathering teenagers, Kitsune casually leaning against Naruto, barely batting an eyelash at the supposed intimidating move.

"That forest doesn't look too bad..." Kitsune thought as she starred into the looming trees as they were waiting to sign their waivers a few minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura in front of them.

"Yeah." Naruto said lightly as he saw and heard a small, cheery bird sing on a branch just inside the forest. But he yelped a few moments later when he saw the cute birdie being swallowed by a fifty foot snake that came out of no where before slinking back into the shadows, the innocent bird now only a small lump in it's thick throat.

"N-Not so ba-bad..." he stuttered as he gulped, Kitsune next to him absently humming the tune the bird had been doing, having not seen what Naruto just had.

**-**

"That was hell on EARTH!" Naruto exclaimed once they got to the tower in the middle of the forest, his body battered and tired, but still in one piece non-the less.

"At least we're all still alive," Sakura sighed, fingering her cropped hair.

"Lets just do the scrolls and get this over with," Naruto said as they opened them and Iruka appeared before them.

"Good job everyone, you made it past the second phase," he said with his usual smile, obvious pride in his voice for his past students. "Now follow me and I'll bring you up with the rest of the people who passed," he explained as he started to walk away, the three tweens following him obediently, Naruto doing a victory dance inside his head for making it this far.

When they entered the room, Naruto didn't have a chance to look around before he was assaulted by non-other then Kitsune who squeezed whatever remaining life he had out of him.

"NARU-CHAN! I'm _so_ happy you made it!" she squealed, curly pigtails bounced around on her head as she shook it from side to side in glee, before she stepped away and looked him over, worry now obvious in her brown eyes. "You've sure taken a beating," she said sadly as she traced a small scratch across on of his whiskered cheeks, it healing right after her touch.

But when her eyes fell on Sasuke nearby, she slowly backed away and silently growled, "He got you," she said through grit teeth, starring into Sasuke's black eyes that were slightly widened in clear surprise.

Her eyes eventually softened and she stopped growling to stand in front of Sasuke, putting a hand on his shoulder and whispered "Good luck," before going back to the mob of the rest of the people who made it, Team 7 obediently following her.

"Something happened to Sasuke?" Naruto questioned as he looked up at her depressed demeanor.

She bit her bottom lip in aggravation prior to lightly nodding, but before he could prod her into it more, the new instructor Hayate spoke. Naruto finally noticed the old Hokage and the team instructors, he was easily able to pick out Kakashi, in the room as well behind Hayate.

"Congratulations on making it this far, especially the sand village team who made it here in a few hours, and to…um…" he trailed off as he looked at Kitsune with questioning eyes, "…that girl over there for appearing only four more hours after," he settled for as he pointed to Kitsune who beamed in the attention, the Hokage behind slightly widening his eyes at the information.

Naruto looked up at her with his jaw open, noticing that she had no injuries at all, not even a scratch, as her clothes were only slightly soiled.

"Now, since the there's so many of you," Hayate started to explain, "We're going to have to have preliminary matches to get ride of some of ya," he said as he looked down at his clipboard.

"I have an injury and will be withdrawing," Kabuto said briefly as he raised his hand and started to walk away.

"Peh, what a _loser,_" Kitsune said loudly "Does he think an _injury_ is all there needs to be to quit?" She questioned as she turned to look at his still back.

Kabuto turned around, his eye twitching in irritation.

"Kit-chan, leave him alone, he helped my team a lot," Naruto whispered as he pulled on the end of her jacket in an attempt to stop her.

"Well, good for him," she snorted, "But he really is just a _coward_ if he won't fight; his chakra isn't that damaged and his injuries are almost healed for what I can feel," she continued to ridicule as she pointed at him, a small growl coming from her throat, Kabuto's eyes slightly widening at how she knew he'd healed himself.

Kakashi, nearby, narrowed his visible eye in thought as he wondered how she could read his chakra without any obvious special ability.

"It's his decision," Hayate said, trying to regain control over the situation while stifling a cough.

"Whatever, I guess if he's too much of a _scaredy cat_, so there's nothing we can do."

"I'm doing this so that nothing bad happens to _little kids_ like you," Kabuto whispered for only her to hear, anger starting to seep into his usual cherry mood.

"Excuses, excuses, I'd take you _any_ day, even if I was _half dead_ I could probably kick your ass," Kitsune threatened with a smirk; everyone looking at her with interested looks, wondering if she could keep up her heavy bluff.

"You know what?" he questioned as he strode over to her, finding that that he was barely an inch taller then her, "I'll stay, despite my _injury_, and I hope that I get to fight _you__,_" he said menacingly as he pointed back at her.

Before she could retort back, something darted out of her jacket and bit Kabuto's extended finger, making him gasp and hastily take a few steps back, the creature still on his finger.

"Ko-chan!" Taru exclaimed in worry as she grabbed Kabuto's flailing wrist, forcefully halting his erratic actions, and took back the furry little animal.

"What the hell?" Kabuto questioned as he examined his bitten finger that started bleeding.

"You disturbed Kota from his sleep," she murmured as she petted the small animal that was curled in a ball, barely fitting into the palm of her hand.

"Is it a squirrel?" Naruto asked with curiosity.

"No, it's a baby fox I found in the forest," she cooed as she cuddled the animal to her face. "I was so happy that he liked me cause animals usually hate me. Along with most children," she explained blandly as she lowered the animal so Naruto could see it, who was more interested in the new information about her personal life then the little animal.

The small animal stood on shaky legs and looked at Naruto with huge green eyes, it's glossy orange coat and huge whiskers making it look very cute, that is, until it jumped and bit Naruto on the nose.

"Ko-chan!" Kitsune exclaimed as she released Naruto from its grasp, Naruto already wanting to pound it.

"OK, _ENOUGH_! Get your butts over to the arena NOW!!" Hayate snarled viciously despite his usual passive appearance, not caring if the Hokage _was_ behind him, who was inwardly smiling at his temper similar to his own.

Kitsune jerked her head up and ran with a flash to the arena where she was suppose to go, everyone else following her calmly.

"Kakashi!" she exclaimed when she saw him up ahead, waving his hand.

"Well, looks like not only my team made it through, but you did too Kitsune. Happy day," Kakashi stated with an amused façade.

"Yeah, she made through the forest in, like,_ five hours_! Isn't that _AWESOME_?!" Naruto said with excitement, making Kitsune lightly blush from the praise.

"Naru-chan, you make it seem like such a big deal when it's not…" she muttered as she looked down at her new pet Kota.

"That is not an easy feat, indeed," Kakashi said, even though already knowing it from before, as he looked down at Kitsune. Kota was now on her shoulder and rubbing against her neck affectionately, making her giggle.

"The first match is to begin!" a voice boomed as Sasuke and Sakura walked up to their sensei.

The board was thrown into life as many names flashed by, Kakashi looking at Sasuke with a narrowed eye when he saw the cursed bite he was trying to hide.

Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado were the names that flashed on the board and Sasuke moaned in annoyance.

Their match quickly began and Sasuke came up as the winner, but not without a lot of pain from the cursed mark. Kakashi quickly excused himself and took Sasuke away, leaving Naruto and Kitsune and Sakura to wait for the next match.

"How's it going?" Kakashi asked as he revealed himself to the younger two in the middle of Kankuro's match, making both the pranksters turn to the silver haired ninja.

"Senpai! Is he alright?" She asked curiously when she ran up to him with Naruto close by, just as worried. Kitsune didn't specifically like Sasuke, but she knew that he was one of Naruto's few friend-like figures, even if both of them denied it.

Kakashi sighed and Kitsune noted that he looked much older then when she'd first seen him here. "It's really complicated," he finally admitted as he scratched his mass of silver hair.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura muttered to herself in worry, but she was quickly snapped out of it when she heard her name being called and saw that she was up against Ino.

"OOOOH!" Kitsune yelled in excitement when she saw the match up "CAT FIGHT, YES!" she pumped her fists and jumping in the air, Naruto just laughing at her funny gestures. At the end, Naruto was concerned for Sakura's well-being but once she woke up he sighed in relief and thankfulness, Kitsune going so far as to force a large smile when Sakura's eyes fell on her.

Then Naruto and Kitsune closed their eyes in hope for either of them to be able to go next. They opened their eyes and Kitsune groaned in annoyance, Naruto winning their bet that he would go first, and was up against Kiba.

"GO NARU-CHAN!" Kitsune yelled with all her might just as Kiba and Naruto were going to start their fight, Hayate silently glarring at her and she squeaked her mouth shut before she attempted to hide behind Kakashi from the icy glare.

She watched the fight in intense anticipation, having bitten off all her nails to the roots quite a while ago because of how nervous she was. She resisted the urge to yell out in celebration when she saw Kiba get tricked by Naruto to punch Akumaru. But when he did his 'secret' move, she couldn't help but crack up. She was too focused laughing and trying to get enough oxygen to live, she didn't notice his true ultimate move or when he came back to stand next to her, a proud smile on his energetic face.

Finally after a few minutes of her ignoring him (and not giving him a hug in congratulations) and having enough of her hysterical laughter, he grabbed her pigtails, one in each hand, and yanked hard, snapping her out of her laughing fit but earning him a hard whack on the head. But she finally noticed it was Naruto and found out that he'd won, where she hugged the last life from him (yet again), not that Naruto really minded that much anyway.

Kitsune sighed in annoyance after she saw Hinata and Neji fight, everyone else practically gone except her.

"God, I'm really over this," Kitsune muttered as she leaned over the railing, a slightly battered Naruto next to her.

"Hopefully you'll be able to go soon Kit-chan!" Naruto said optimistically even though he was slightly pissed off at Neji and extremely tired from his fight with Kiba.

"Hello beautiful maiden!" Lee said as he approached the small group, a big smile on his comical face.

"Hi?" she questioned as he starred back at her with glittering stars in his eyes.

"Kit-chan, this is Lee. He helped us in the forest...or I think he did," Naruto stated as he turned to Sakura who nodded in confirmation as Kitsune shook Lee's wrapped hand.

"Thank you for helping Naru-chan. I only wish I could have been there," Kitsune said as she lightly bowed.

"It was no problem. If you need anything, beautiful maiden, please call on me for assistance," Lee said as he grabbed her hand and went down on one knee, tears streaming down his face.

"Whoa, whoa! Stop trying to freaking _propose_ to her Lee," Naruto growled as he shoved himself in front of the two older teens.

"But…I cannot _help_ it. She's so full of gorgeous youth I want her to be my girlfriend! I've been watching her from afar this entire time and I couldn't take not talking to her anymore!" Lee explained as he tried to get around Naruto.

"Hey! Lee!" Gai Sensei yelled as he approached too.

"You've been so busy talking with this _girlie_ over here that you didn't even watch the fight of Dosu versus Choji," Guy continued to scold and all Lee could do was hang his head in shame.

"Sensei! I'm sorry!" Lee gushed as he groveled at his teacher's feet.

"Hey, whose the guy in the green spandex just like Lee's?" Kitsune whispered to Naruto.

"That's Lee's sensei, Mighty Gai," Naruto whispered back and Kitsune nodded in confirmation, easily seeing the resemblance.

"Time for the next match," Hayate coughed, which made Lee and Gai turn their heads from each other.

The computer flashed for a few seconds before Gaara's and Lee's name flashed, making Kitsune slightly ridged.

"Now Lee, be careful, this boy has that odd gourd on his back. I have a uneasy feeling about it," Gai explained before Lee nodded in confirmation and got ready to jump in, but Kitsune grabbed his hand at the last second.

"Lee, make sure you're careful. That guy reeks of blood and _bad,_" Kitsune said quickly before letting him go again, Naruto slightly annoyed in the background at the innocent contact, yet hiding it very well as Kakashi was the only one who noticed.

"Thank you beautiful maiden," he said with a deep bow before finally jumping into the arena where Gaara was already waiting.

Gaara moved his green eyes to rest on Kitsune who was intensely starring back at him, making him the tiniest bit interested before turning back to Lee.

Lee turned to look up at Kitsune with a confident face and huge smile, "Do not worry beautiful maiden, for I will defeat him with my awesome youthfulness in your name!" he exclaimed before turning back to Gaara to finally start the match.

Naruto snorted at the declaration, which made Kitsune raise an eyebrow at his sudden sour mood.

"What's wrong Naru-chan?" she asked as she approached him from behind and tip toed so she was able to put her chin on the top of his head and her arms around his shoulders and neck.

"Nothin," he murmured as he looked down at her hands, a light blush on his cheeks with her body pressed against his from the back.

"Ok," she stated after a few seconds before giving his body a final squeeze around the shoulders and removed her body to lean against the railing next to him again and watch the fight that was to begin in the next few seconds.

Naruto watched in fascination as her eyes became so focused that she was watching every signal move even at their high speeds, her fingers twitching from time to time as if she wanted to do some of Lee's moves by herself.

She gasped when she saw Lee's arm and leg get crushed by Gaara's sand, her eyes clouding over in worry as she lifted her shaking hands to her mouth.

"LEE!" Naruto yelled as he saw him fall to the ground and pass out from the intense pain.

"N-No…" Kitsune choked out as tears started to well up in the corner of his eyes at the sight of his disordered body as the medics took him out, a dispirited Gai following with tears in his eyes as well.

"This is horrible," Kitsune said as she closed her eyes, the tears retreating before they fell down her cheeks. "He'll never be able to be a ninja again," she told sadly as she leaned against Naruto.

"What do you mean? He'll _heal,_" Naruto said in confirmation more to himself then her, Kakashi hearing her declaration nearby and looked away, knowing that Kitsune was more correct then Naruto.

Kitsune closed her eyes and lightly shook her head, deciding not to tell Naruto the full extend on the injuries, how they'd not only affect him physically but deeply mentally as well.

"Next match! The last two left, Kitsune and Kabuto!" Hayate yelled, snapping Kitsune's head from Naruto's shoulder.

"YES! I can take my anger out on something!" she growled as she fished in her jacket and handed a sleeping Kota over to Naruto who took it with slight exasperation.

Before she was about to jump down in the arena, Naruto took her wrist, making her quickly turn her head back to him with question in her eyes.

He lightly blushed before leaning forward and rubbing his nose with hers for a few seconds before letting her hand go, moving his eyes to her own happy face that gave him a final smile before bounding into the arena, more confidence in herself then before.

"The final battle, Kabuto verses Kitsune," Hayate coughed before yelling: "Begin!"

Kabuto immediately back flipped away from Kitsune as she mirrored the image, both of them now having a good forty to fifty feet between them.

"Prepare for hell!" Kabuto smirked as he did a few hand signs, Kitsune immediately preparing to attack even though she didn't know what the hand signs were for, but found out soon enough it was for clones as there were suddenly nine new bodies.

"Here I come!" Kitsune yelled with zeal as she charged at the ten clones of Kabuto, each wielding a dangerous kunai.

When Kitsune approached the first body, she leaped high above it in a flash. And before he saw her above, she grasped his head between her feet around the neck and twisted her body back to slam the body into another clone, making both disappear in a poof, prior to bounding up to avoid another clone. She crouched on the ground again before tackling the clone to the ground. A third clone was about to stab her in the back and the second was going to stab her in the stomach, but she moved at the last second in another orange flash and the clones ended up stabbing each other and disappearing in a flash.

Kitsune back flipped as she glared at the six remaining clones, looking a little discouraged at her current actions that had taken only about fifteen seconds.

"I wonder…" she thought with a maniacal smirk before she charged again. This time, she punched the first clone she approached repeatedly in a blur before jumping up to do a 360 degree kick in the face of two others, making all three disappear in a cloud of smoke. Two more charged at her with their kunai raised, but she got ride of them as she dropped to the floor and spun her legs in a whirlwind, making them trip and fall before she jumped up and landed on their backs, a foot on each, the force making them disappear, too.

"One left," she said casually as she inspected her fingernails and brushed off some dust from her spotless jacket.

Kabuto growled before he advanced on his own, a kunai in each hand. Kitsune smirked as she sprinted forward to meet him. Soon, they collided and Kitsune gracefully leaned back to dodge his first stab. He was too occupied with trying to bring his other knife to her throat, he hadn't noticed she had bended back so far that she was now able to throw up her leg, and kicked him in the jaw, making him drop his weapons and skid a good thirty feet away, Kitsune easily landing on her still bare feet again.

"Bitch," he cursed as he spat some blood from his mouth and looked up to find her spinning the two kunai on her index fingers, still not even breaking a sweat.

"Time to get serious," Kabuto stated as he sprinted again, this time much faster.

Kitsune's eyes widened for a second as she quickly shoved the kunai in her pockets and back flipped to avoid another jab at her face from Kabuto. She squinted her eyes as she looked at his glowing light blue hands, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end to alert her he was now far more dangerous.

"I knew something was off about you," Kitsune growled, as she stood up straight to a traditional karate stance, fists up in preparation and legs apart. The Hokage nearby smiled at the simple technique, yet knew from experience and his mastery that it could be very sustainable.

"You're not a normal shinobi," she snarled as he descended on her once again, this time she was being extra careful to make sure his dangerous hands didn't touch her at all. He did a deep jab and she ducked under it, being able to land a punch in his stomach but because of it, her momentum was slowed down so that her back flip away was just a touch slower, giving Kabuto the opportunity he needed to brush his hands along the length of her long legs.

She yelped as she skidded about ten feet away, not being able to land her jump because for some reason, unknown to her, she couldn't move her legs.

"Move, Damnit, MOVE! _FRICK_!" she yelled to herself as she tried to lift her body up on her arms, but found it all in vain as she didn't have much upper strength, especially if she was relying on it solely like now.

"It seems the little _foxie girl_ is down and can't get up," Kabuto said with an odious voice, making Kitsune slightly feel like a cornered animal.

"If I cannot walk…" she growled as she lowered her face and hid her eyes behind her long bangs, her curly pigtails slowly becoming to uncurl and straighten.

"I will _FLY,_" she stated loudly as she threw her head back to reveal glowing golden eyes that made Kabuto shiver at the intensity of them.

"Now!" she yelled as she did various hand signs in a blur, the only one in the room being able to read them was Kakashi, who had had his sharingan eye activated the entire fight, already shocked at her speed and fluid movements that seemed to have been practiced a thousand times over. But the hand signs were foreign and he couldn't understand them at all, making him furrow his brow in frustration. The only hand sign he recognized was the last one that meant 'heaven', and that handsign hadn't been used in years as it was ancient and now considered obsolete and not realistic.

Kabuto jumped back as Kitsune was engulfed in a cloud of smoke, covering her body and making everyone wait in anticipation for what was to come.

The smoke was finally cleared and everyone gasped at the sight. Kitsune now had at least twenty feet feathered, pure white wings that sprouted from her back. Her eye twitched as she tested the wings, a few trickles of blood coming out from where they stemmed from.

'Body transmutation…amazing…' the Hokage thought as he leaned forward as if trying to get closer to the fight, Kakashi nearby doing the same.

Naruto blinked as Kitsune took off into the air with a few flaps of her wings, a few white feathers floating into the air, one of them landing in his palm, the feeling soft and silky.

Kabuto glared up at Kitsune who hovered above him. He snarled as he threw up numerous kunai and shuriken in an attempt to clip either her body or wings, but found that no matter how good his aim, her speed was just as good on her feet, maybe better, and so none of the weapons hit their wanted bloody mark.

Kabuto glanced down to his pouch to get more weapons, but when he looked back up Kitsune was nowhere in his line of sight. Before he could turn around, he felt cold steel through his chest and looked down to find the tip of a kunai poking out of his chest.

He coughed out blood as he fell down on the hard floor, Kitsune flipping him over onto his back and pressed the second kunai from before to his throat, breaking the skin slightly, making blood dribble from his neck.

"Enough Kitsune! You win!" Hayate ordered, as he looked at the seemingly angel who was almost committing a major sin.

Kitsune growled and she pressed the knife further; golden eyes flashing into Kabuto's scared ones.

"Kit-chan!" Naruto yelled from the railing, making her blink her eyes, the gold being overtaken by the creamy brown again and her hair curling back to before.

She dropped the bloody kunai on the ground and stumbled away, her wings curling around her body as if shielding herself away from the world.

She watched with wide eyes as Kabuto was taken away, blood once again covering the floor, slowly streaming from his throat.

"Demon…" Kabuto whispered before passing out, Kitsune wouldn't have heard it not for her sensitive hearing. She turned away at the insult; tears prickling her eyes once again as she looked at her blood covered hands and felt the throb in her head, an evil laughter echoing inside her head.

"Kit-chan!" Naruto yelled again, feeling her chaotic emotions that were overloading her mind through their connection in the collar.

He jumped down in a flash and ran to her form, pushing aside the wings to give her a hug. Kitsune's eyes widened at the obvious affection before they closed, tears now openly flooding out of her eyes.

She surrounded both their bodies in her soft wings before they disappeared from her back and all that was left was a handful of feathers that feel over the embracing couple.

"You alright?" Naruto asked as he finally pulled away, ignoring everyone's eyes that were on the two of them.

Kitsune weakly nodded her head, but gasped when she crumpled back onto the ground, noticing her legs still weren't that stable.

"Guess his jutsu hasn't worn off yet," she nervously laughed as she looked up at Naruto.

"Jump on," the blond instructed as he crouched down and offered her his back. She smiled before crawling onto his smaller back. With her fairly lightweight, he could bare it and stood up, Kitsune's arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall off.

"Thanks Naru-chan, I really owe you one," she whispered in her ear before rubbing her nose just below it along his jaw line, making his cheeks go a deep red.

A few minutes later and all the contestants who had passed were lined up in front of Hayate, Kitsune leaning against Naruto for support still, not that either of them minded much.

The drawing ended up with the following pairings of Naruto and Neji, Sasuke and Gaara, Shikamaru and Dosu, Kankuro and Shino, and last but not least, Kitsune and Temari. Lastly, they were told where to meet in a month, allowing them to heal and train, before they were dismissed to do whatever they wanted. Before they left, quite a few of them gave a final glance to Kitsune and her now regular back, the only evidence that wings were there was the rips in the jacket that revealed tan skin, unscarred. But only a few noticed the blood stains from the transformation as they weren't very obvious.

"I'm dead tired," Naruto complained as he carried Kitsune on his back towards their now shared apartment, various people giving them odd looks or giggles as they walked through the public streets.

"Me too," Kitsune muttered as she started to close her eyes and felt sleep taking over, Kota neatly poking out of her collar. She bended her back so she could rest her head on his shoulder, her warm breath tickling Naruto's neck and causing another light blush to adorn his cheeks.

They finally arrived at their apartment, where with a little difficulty in not wanting to drop Kitsune while getting the key, Naruto was able to open the door and enter.

He quickly walked over to his bed in the darkness and placed Kitsune in it, not remembering it being as big and soft as it was now. He was about to walk away to find something else to sleep on, but he found he couldn't because Kitsune had a death grip on one of his wrists.

"Come…" she murmured as she cracked an eye open to look at his confused visage.

"But-"

"I don't care. I just want some body heat like when I was young. My family..." she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Before Naruto could interject, she had fallen asleep and her grip relaxed on his wrist. Naruto could have now easily broken out of, but he stood still.

Looking down at her peacefully sleeping form, she seemed even more innocent and it made him wonder again how she was able to do such violent acts. But he pushed that aside as a sincere smile graced his young face and he cautiously laid down on the bed across of her. He starred at her fair, tranquil face before looking down at their intertwined fingers. He fluttered his eyes closed, the last thing he remembered was the glittering of the silver ring around her slender neck that rendered her as his.

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 4!**

**-**

**Preview for:**

**Episode 5 : A 'Fun' Day Around Town**

_"I'll make you a deal..." Kitsune broke off as she starred into the older man's eyes,__ his mouth curving into a grin..._

**-**


	5. A 'Fun' Day Around Town

_**A/N:** Thanks again to everyone who reviewed: _Mark20020, cooltony101neo, Maerstab, Sharingan-hater86, Irishfighter, Archontic, serhoth, IMAGNATOR, Paul Evans, Dragon of Twilight, actionliker, DeExil, _and_ Dragon Man 180. _Really appreciate it guys, it keeps me writing! And sorry if this chapter is a little slow, it's somewhat of a filler (gasp)! it's the dreaded curse word in Naruto anime! (and practically any other anime series...DX)_

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**-**

**Episode 5 : A 'Fun' Day Around Town**

**-**

**-**

Naruto groaned as he heard a bothersome noise that successfully drew him out of his sleep. He tried to move his body to stop the 'evil' sound, but he felt something holding him back. Cracking his eyes open, he looked down to find a pair of arms slung around him and continued his gaze to the person who the limps belonged to, a peaceful looking Kitsune.

He turned his body to face Kitsune, her arms still clinging to his body, and looked at her tranquil face for a second before benevolently moving one of her long bangs from her tanned face, thinking for a brief moment how he was doing that a lot lately; their faces so close that he could really see the freckles on the bridge of her nose.

But his starring and thoughts were interrupted when he heard the bothersome noise again, realizing that it was someone knocking on his door, and wondering for a second why he was suddenly having so many visits.

He groaned in exasperation as he untangled his legs from Kitsune's and jerked out of her grip with a little difficulty, replacing his body with a big pillow the second he was completely free before she noticed the absence in her arms. He then grunted as he stretched, cracking his back and neck, before he looked around and wondering for a brief second if this indeed was his apartment. There were now countless paper lanterns of different shades and shapes that hung from the ceiling and various plants, many of them flowering, strewn around the whole apartment it seemed like. He noticed a couch and a low table before a TV, countless pillows and stuffed animals strewn around the floor that was now made of a polished deep brown wood. He turned to find a full-length mirror glittering back at him next to his clothes drawer, and finally noted that he was only wearing a pair of boxers and a shirt. Didn't he go to sleep in his orange jumpsuit too?

A third pounding on his door was heard; this time much louder and no doubt the person on the other end of the door was going to kick it down if it wasn't answered in the next few seconds. Naruto hurriedly scrambled over the various pillows strewn all over the floor before sliding to a halt at the front of his door. He quickly yanked it open to find his sensei starring back at him with a bored expression, if not a slight glint of annoyance in his visible black eye.

"Naruto," Kakashi stated as he starred at his jumbled student.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's up?" Naruto asked as he rubbed the top of his bed-head blond hair, trying to make it at least a little tidy and not seem he'd just jumped out of bed, which was now painfully obvious.

"It's about your training for the next part of the Chûnin Exams," he stated blandly, jamming his hand he'd been using to knock on the door back into his pocket.

"Right!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in excitement "You're gonna teach me, right Sensei?" he asked with hopeful eyes, his hair even seeming to stick up in excitement.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I'll be training Sasuke." Naruto lowered his head in defeat "Please visit the Hokage for him to give you a new teacher that I arranged. That's all, and good luck." he said as he turned around to leave, but not before giving Naruto an encouraging pat on the shoulder, causing the blond boy's grin to arise again.

"Oh, and Naruto?" Kakashi called back as he turned around already half way down the hall, causing Naruto to turn back around himself since he was just closing the door. "Nice door sign," he said as his eyebrow arched in amusement, the next second gone in a flash, not waiting for Naruto's reply.

Naruto owlishly blinked in confusion before he turned to the front of his door. Where the outside used to be bare, it now had a hand painted wooden sign that was hung up by a kunai that messily read 'Kitsune and Naruto' and had a picture of a two foxes, one orange and one black.

Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes before closing the door with a click and turning back to his transformed apartment. He strolled back over to his bed and found that Kitsune was still covered in blankets and asleep, hugging the pillow so hard that he was wondering if the stuffing would start coming out. He finally noticed that his once small bed was now a rather large queen that had even more pillows with various designs and shapes. His once bland white sheets were now replaced with an orange and blue striped comforter and light orange under sheets.

Turning to his dresser drawer, he contently found it to be the same as before, if not with more clothes. He fished out a pair of black shorts, finding it a little hotter then usual for today, and pulled them on in one fluid motion. He moved into the kitchen, which he found was also redone, but still had no trouble locating his ramen. He was pouring the hot water into the said ramen cup when he heard a thump and groan, which he easily recognized had come from Kitsune.

He casually grabbed his ramen cup and turned around, intent on going to say good morning, but found that she was already standing in his kitchen door-frame, and _also_ discovered that she was only wearing a bra and panties. He yelped, not used to seeing so much skin, and dropped his ramen to cover his cerulean eyes.

"God, Kitsune!" Naruto yelled as the blush on his whiskered cheeks only grew a deeper red when he snuck a glance between his fingers. Kitsune opened her eyes slightly, wondering what she did wrong to lose the 'chan' suffix for the moment, but still drowsily oblivious as to why he might be angry.

"Go get some clothes on!" he squeaked as he finally turned his back to her. Again, she only lazily blinked her half opened eyes, yet to fully wake up and have her brain working up to speed.

"Huh?" she intelligently asked as she scratched her head where her hair was now a four foot afro that stuck in every which way direction, much worse then Naruto's bed hair had ever been.

"Cover yourself up!" Naruto instructed the second time as he tried to control his vivid blush, her golden skin still in his mind.

"Oh...ok," She mumbled, finally getting it as she looked down at her exposed body. She meandered to the dresser, running into it where she cursed another four letter foul word Naruto had yet to hear. Turning back with his persistent blush he quickly cleaned up the mess with a grumble. He then made two new bowls and grabbed them before going back into the main room.

Kitsune was now wearing one of Naruto's old shirts and short black spandex shorts that showed off her long golden legs and accentuated larger then normal feet. She was sprawled out on the large bed again; hugging a big stuffed tiger as she lightly snored. Naruto lightly smiled at the shirt, remembering he must have been eight or so since the last time he'd worn it.

"Wake up Kit-chan," Naruto called as he walked over to the new low table in front of the couch that he noticed had a design of cheery blossom branches in full bloom.

He placed down the bowls of ramen, but picked one back up when he had a brilliant idea. He walked back over to Kitsune and pealed back the lid of the ramen cup, letting the delectable aroma go into her little nose.

Her eyes immediately snapped wide open and made a drastic grab for the cup, but Naruto was too quick for her and pulled back. She had lunged so fast and hard that she feel out off the bed for the second time this morning, groaning and saying yet another four letter swear word as she rubbed her soar tail-bone.

"Good mornin' Naru-chan!" she said briefly with now awake eyes as she briefly hugged him and then bounded over to the other cup of ramen, deeming it as her own.

"You're really not a morning person, are you?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow as he sat down next to her on the comfy couch, glad for the moment that he had at least gotten her up.

"Not really. I usually don't even wake up till twelve in the afternoon, I prefer to sleep through the morning all together," she explained before slurping up some noodles, sighing in contentment at the delicious taste.

"How can you sleep so long?" Naruto asked before having his own first bite.

"Well, I stay up all night, then go to bed at sunrise," she said with a foxy smile. "But I may need to change it around here," she continued, her smile not faltering one bit. Naruto only raised an eyebrow at her odd sleeping patterns before turning back to his ramen.

There was silence for a few minutes as they ate in silence, the only sound being their heavy slurps, before Naruto interrupted it with another question.

"Why is my apartment so different now?" he asked as he temporarily stopped eating his favorite food.

"Well, I got through the forest of death very quickly, as you already know," she said as she turned to face him and hugged her knees to her chest, placing her empty bowl on the table.

"I wanted to go out, but they wouldn't let me, but I was so _BORED,_" Naruto childishly rolled his eyes at her whining tone, "So I snuck a clone of myself out. I pretended to be meditating, but I was really just controlling my clone in the outside world. I made it re-do your room with money that I made."

"Where'd you get the money? A job?" Naruto asked as he put down his cup, completely finished with it also.

"Yeah!" Kitsune gushed before bounding up and over the couch, reappearing a second later with a magazine in her hand.

"See?" she said happily as she showed him the front cover.

"That's YOU?!" Naruto asked with extreme shock as he looked at the photo. In it, Kitsune was laying down with her arms above her, eyes closed as if she was sleeping. Rose petals surrounded her, a few on her tanned body, and was wearing nothing but a very lacy pair of matching red panties and bra. Naruto pinched his nose to prevent a nosebleed and looked back up to Kitsune with yet another heavy blush.

"I modeled for an entire underwear catalog at this store, and they gave me a good amount of money," she said with a huge smile as she showed him a few more pages, her teeth glimmering in the morning sun, and her fang-like canines, even sharper than Naruto's, glinted over her bottom lip. Naruto blinked at her, still not comprehending it all, but with each picture he knew his body temperate was going up a few degrees and he was sure he was about to burst.

"So with the money I re-did your entire apartment, making it a little more homey, bought some stuff for you and me, and then put the little left in an account I opened for us at the bank, after paying off a few tiny debts that you had to the village. All the money, which actually isn't really a lot, in your name though cause I'm not a real citizen of the town," she explained after she'd bounded off the couch again, leaving the magazine on the table (Naruto lightly sighing in relief), and picked up a stuffed giraffe by it's long neck that was just about as big as her and hugged it close to her thin frame.

"I hope you like it," she said sincerely as her face calmed and her eyes looked around the now extravagantly small-furnished room, an odd mix of a bachelor and hippie place. Naruto smiled as he looked around too. It used to be bare and unfeeling, but now it was full and had a warm cozy feeling, even having a faint smell of vanilla. There was a comfortable silence before Kitsune broke it with a question Naruto had been lightly wondering himself.

"So what do you want to do today?"

**-**

"So you don't have anyone to train you right now cause Kakashi-senpai ditched you for Sasuke-teme?" Kitsune asked as she and Naruto walked through the streets about ten minutes after she'd asked the question.

Naruto had changed into his normal orange jacket and pants, but it was so hot that the jacket was wrapped around his waist, revealing his black shirt that hung snuggly to his thin frame. Kitsune had preferred to keep the small shorts and white shirt on, deciding it was too hot to wear pants. She'd gotten her hair under control, after some difficulty, and had decided to put it into pigtails again, the frizziness going away to reveal her thick curls.

"Yeah, and Kakashi-sensei told me to see the Old Man to get a new one he supposedly found for me," Naruto shrugged, oblivious to the odd glances that people were giving to them.

"Are you gonna get a teacher too?" Naruto continued to talk as they rounded a corner.

"I dunno," she admitted lazily, suppressing a yawn, as she scratched her stomach lazily, ignoring the leering gazes of a few teenage boys.

"Ah! Here it is! My first stop of the day!" Kitsune gushed, snapping a little more awake, as she stopped in front of a flower shop, Naruto stopping as well.

"Sorry, Naru-chan, but I have to get some flowers here," she said with a little smile, already sad at having to separate from the hyperactive ninja.

"Like we don't have enough?" Naruto questioned with raised eyebrows, remembering how the apartment now looked partially like a flower field.

"It's not for me," she said as her sad smile turned into a mysterious one, "So I'll meet up with you later, and good luck on finding yourself a teacher," she finished before leaning down and rubbing noses with him.

She gave him a final wave before turning into the flower shop door, a small ring of a bell sounding off as she entered. Naruto sighed as he touched his nose before continuing on his way to the Hokage, trying to convince himself the tingling sensation he felt whenever he touched skin with Kitsune was all in his head.

Kitsune took a deep breath as she entered the shop, the various aromas of the flowers making her dizzy in happiness.

She leaped to the first flower that came into view and shoved her face into it; sneezing a few times as some pollen went too far into her sensitive nose.

"Hello there! How can I help you?" she heard a cheery voice behind her coo and she turned around to find a pair of blue eyes without pupils staring up at her.

"Hey! Do I know you?" Kitsune asked as she leaned closer to the blond girl.

"Uh, yeah, sorta. I fought Sakura yesterday," the blond answered warily with a forced smile, she herself had immediately recognized Kitsune.

"Ino!" Kitsune said with a smile that immediately lit up her face, finally noticing the various bandages on her face and body.

"Yeah," Ino said as her smile became more natural and genuine "So, um, do you need something Kitsune-san?" Ino asked, having enough respect to give the higher suffix to the older girl.

"Yes, I'd really appreciate it!" Kitsune smiled back, Ino inwardly wondering how such a stunning person like her would be associated with a spaz like Naruto.

**-**

Naruto yelped as he fell into the hot, dark liquid. He spat out water as he broke the surface before quickly swimming to the shore again, not wanting to be in the boiling water longer then he had to be. He didn't have another chance to try and walk on the water before he heard a yelp from his new sensei, Ebisu, that the Hokage had dumped on him insisting that Kakashi had picked him out especially for him.

He quickly jumped out and ran just in time to see an older man with long white hair drop kick him, sending him to god knows where, Naruto really not caring all that much.

The blue-eyed teen looked up at the aged man with new admiration, but still a little irked that yet another one of his teachers was now gone.

"Hey man!" he yelled as he approached the older man who looked back at him with a bored expression. "That was my teacher, now you gotta replace him!" Naruto continued to order as he placed his hand on his hips and puffed out his chest, trying to make him look more threatening.

"Look, kid, I have research to do, so scram," the silver-haired man ordered briefly before turning away, taking a last sad glance at the empty bathhouse that the annoying glass wearing freak had emptied.

"Please! I'll do anything Old Man!" Naruto pleaded as he jumped in the older man's walking way, his cerulean blue eyes now big in an attempted puppy-dog face Kitsune had done to him to get her way once.

"First" he growled at the bubbly blond, the face obviously not working, "My name is Jiraiya, the _legendary_ toad sage, and I'm not _that_ old! And if you wanna prove yourself worthy, find me someone."

"Who?" Naruto asked with wide eyes, ever eager and ready to prove.

"Find me someone with a pair that are _full_, some _deadly weapons_ under the shirt, if you know what I mean," he said with a light blush as he moved his fingers in a comical way, which only confused Naruto more, but he was NOT going to give up.

"You got it Mister! I'll find um!" Naruto exclaimed before he took off in a dash, not even bothering to dry off his clothes first.

Jiraiya looked at the blond's retreating form before he openly laughed and lightly shook his head, going off in the opposite direction.

**-**

_On the other side of town…_

Kitsune cautiously took a few glances around herself before bounding up six stories to the desired window and landed with no more then a small thump, putting chakra into her bare feet to steady herself. She looked in to the window and found the person she was looking for who was looking back at her with wide eyes, his head resting on a pillow. She enthusiastically waved before opening the window and quickly jumping into the room.

"So how's the hospital treating you? I hope these flowers make it at least a little better Lee," she said with a small smile as she presented the huge bouquet of flowers she'd just picked out at Ino's shop to the green spandex wearing enthusiast who was now wearing a white gown and laying in a white hospital bed. Kitsune had never thought green matched him, but white was definitely worse.

"Fine, beautiful maiden," he managed to say, his voice soft and slightly slurred from the heavy medication he was probably being constantly injected with.

Her smile faltered slightly before she pulled up a stool to sit at his bedside.

"I'm so sorry Lee, if I'd been watching more closely, if I…" she drifted off as she looked into Lee's eyes sympathetically, guilt coming off of her in waves.

"It is not your fault, and no fear! For Konoha's handsome beast will heal!" he proclaimed as he weakly raised his uninjured fist. "You should not worry about me. You should be training to win for me!" he laughed as he dropped his fist down again, Kitsune could obviously see even that small action had cost him precious energy.

"Lee, you should sleep," she said softly as she looked down at her own hands that were subconsciously forming into fists, the real scars in what she'd _done_ with them and not on the flawless skin on the surface.

"You need your energy," she continued to say weakly as she looked back, her hyper and happy exterior cracking. He smiled lightly before closing his eyes and relaxing his body.

She sighed in relief a few minutes later as she heard his even breathing and saw his chest rise up and down in rhythm before standing up from her stool to put the extravagant flowers into an empty vase nearby, having to push it a little so all the stems fit in.

She gave one last sorrowful glance to Lee before bounding back out the window, now on to visit the second person she knew that was in the hospital as well.

"Go away," Sasuke snorted when he saw Kitsune at his window. She noticed some pink on his cheeks and wondered if it was because he had a fever.

"God, Mr. Cynical Prick, I'm just trying to be _nice,_" she growled as she jumped in.

He icily glared in at her. She glared back just as hard.

Kitsune had already come across the conclusion that Sasuke was not somebody that most people usually crossed, but in her opinion, a little argument and defiance would be good for his blown up ego and dark look on the world. But today just wasn't her day, she thought, as their glaring match was now well over five minutes.

"Fine, I'm leaving," she snapped as she dragged her eyes away from his and threw the other bouquet of flowers she'd bought this morning at his face. He quickly removed the arrangement to find that she was already gone; the only noise being the flapping of the white drapes that partially covered his room's now open window.

He looked down at the flowers and noticed a card. He flipped it over and it read 'Feel better' in nice cursive handwriting that was already printed on the card, but below that there were the names 'Kitsune Naruto' messily written. He finally looked at the flowers.

Yellow roses. Friendship.

He starred at the happy flowers before chucking them at the other end of the room where they hit with a light thud and feel the ground, the once proud roses now broken and beginning to wilt. He got out of bed with a scowl, intent on going to look for Kakashi to train him for the upcoming third part of the exams. He would need all the strength he could muster, and more.

**-**

"What do I _do_?!" Naruto asked himself in frustration as he stomped through the streets. He had already presented quite a few people to Jiraiya, but found that each time it only irked him more and more with each wrong person. How was he suppose to know that Iruka didn't have big enough 'weapons,' _he_ personally thought he did, what with him chucking them at him over the years.

He sighed as he sat down on a bench in a small park, various small kids playing before him. It was late in the afternoon and he could see the faint orange rays reflect on the fluffy clouds slowly floating across the sky.

"Guess who?" he suddenly heard as he felt hands cover his eyes from behind.

"Kit-chan?" Naruto guessed, too absorbed in his own thoughts to really hear the voice, only deeming it feminine at the last second.

There was silence for a few tense seconds before the hands were taken away and he turned his head to look at the person behind him.

His cerulean eyes widened as he saw Sakura standing there, fiddling with a lock of her short pink hair. She had just come back from the hospital, surprised to find the big arrangement of flowers in Lee's room and disappointed to learn Sasuke had already left, and had seen Naruto sit on the bench and had decided to say hi, with them being teammates and all.

"Oh, guess I guessed wrong. What's up?" Naruto laughed off as he stood up and walked around the bench to stand by his barely taller teammate.

"Nothing," she said as she took a step back, still shocked that he didn't recognize her voice.

"Hey, have you seen Kitsune around?" he finally asked, not knowing what else to say to break the minute long awkward silence.

"Uh…no sorry," Sakura said, and watched his glittering eyes become a hint more solemn. She turned her own green eyes to glance at the playing children before coming back to Naruto's whiskered face.

"Oh…ok, well…I'll see you around then," he said with a big lopsided smile and closed eyes before waving once and beginning to walk away.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out suddenly, making him turn around with a curious expression that made Sakura slightly gasp. She was so used to seeing his face in a huge goofy grin, scowl, or scrunched up in deep concentration that she'd never seen it relaxed like it was now and so wasn't used to seeing his wide blue eyes and soft boyish face that actually made him pretty cute.

"Do you wanna go get some ramen with me?" she finally blurted out quickly without really thinking, wondering why in the world she was asking the town's number one dope.

Naruto blinked, not entirely comprehending that she'd just said that. Not two months ago, he would have been foaming at the mouth in happiness, his crush and ramen _together_, but now he felt that it would just be a...chore, if that was the right word for it. He really just wanted to go look for Kitsune.

"Um…maybe later. I have to go find Kitsune," he said with a small smile before he turned around again and jumped into the setting sun's rays.

Sakura starred wide-eyed and open-jawed at his retreating form. She growled as she sat down at the bench Naruto himself was occupying only a few minutes before. How dare he turn her down, how dare he! she thought, but it did nothing to stop the small ache in her chest that anyone feels at being rejected, still coming up no matter who turned you down.

Naruto, oblivious to her down mood, was now bounding over the town's roofs, wondering who else would fit Jiraiya's description.

He finally decided to stop and started walking through the town's streets, ignoring the daily glares he was given.

"Naru-chan!" was the last thing he heard before he was knocked to the hard, dusty ground. He groaned as he felt the person get off of him and he got up himself, rubbing his now soar nose that had been jammed into the road.

"How're you?" Kitsune asked happily as she lightly bounced in place next to him, clearly being the one who had knocked him down. He only shot her a light glare before he started continued walking down the road, dusting off his jacket of dust.

"What's wrong?" she asked with worry, easily keeping up with his strides that were quickened from his anger.

"I need to find someone so I can get a guy to help me train," Naruto explained briefly as they started to round a corner.

"For who?" Kitsune asked as they finished the corner, approaching Ichiraku's ramen stand.

"That guy!" Naruto said exasperatedly as he pointed to the white haired sage that was at the ramen stand himself.

"Well, I guess I'll just _beat_ him until he trains you," Kitsune growled, curling her top lip to reveal sharp white teeth and her eyes flashing gold for a split second as she rolled up invisible sleeves.

"Hey, buddy!" she yelled as she stomped over to Jiraiya, Naruto hanging off her thin waist in a futile attempt to hold her back.

"I got a pro-"

"She's perfect!" Jiraiya screamed rather loudly, cutting her off, as he was suddenly in twenty places at once, looking over every part of Kitsune.

"Tall and slender with a nice skin tone showing maturity, yet young and innocent like the pigtails suggest," he drooled as Kitsune and Naruto blinked their eyes simultaneously. "And I feel I've seen you before, have we meet?" he asked, Kitsune only tilting her head in confusion.

"What're you talking about?" Naruto asked as he let go of Kitsune's waist to stand next to her and look at the lightly blushing older man.

"For my research," Jiraiya said as he looked up at Kitsune's confused face that suddenly turned into a smirk, an idea forming in her mind.

_"_I'll make you a deal..." Kitsune broke off as she starred into the older man's eyes, his mouth curving into a grin.

"I help you with your research, _to a certain extent _since I don't know what this 'research' is, and you train Naruto."

"YES! YES A _MILLION_ TIMES!" Jiraiya yelled to the heavens, causing a few people passing by the street to stare at the odd man they'd never seen before.

"Awesome! You can start by paying for his dinner," Kitsune smiled along with Naruto who was happy for a chance to have Ichiraku's famous ramen for yet another night, but even more content at getting a new sensei. As they sat down at their stools, Naruto deemed he owned Kitsune a big one as she shot him a smile that he eagerly returned.

"So how old are you _foxy_?" Jiraiya asked as he waggled his eyebrows.

Kitsune blinked innocently for a second, not comprehending what he was really getting at, before finally answering. "Well, I don't really know, but I can't be over fifteen..." she said as she put a finger to her chin in thought.

Jiraiya's grinning face fell and he looked like he was close to crying, thinking she was something close to seventeen or eighteen. Naruto, who was sitting on the other side of him, was contently grinning, completely oblivious with his thoughts only on his ramen and what wonderful new techniques he'd be soon learning tomorrow.

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 5!**

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**Preview for:**

**Episode 6: Training Can Be Fun, Right?**

_Kitsune lazily sprawled out on a flat rock, glad to finally get some sun, as she watched Naruto try and walk on water for the first time with Jiraiya. She closed her eyes and grimaced as she heard him curse (a word he'd learned from her) and the splash of water he created as he fell in. She opened them again to find him at the river's bank taking off his drenching wet clothes with a sour expression. She furrowed her eyebrows at his thin frame, noticing that he held an enormous amount of chakra that was somehow being suppressed, the reason for making him struggle._

_"Come here kid," Jiraiya ordered after the fourth time Naruto had fallen in. Kitsune's bored face turned to curiosity and she cart-wheeled over to Jiraiya as well, wondering what he'd do to Naruto._

_She gasped as she saw the intricate pattern that fanned out from his belly button on his flat stomach when Jiraiya had ordered him to focus his chakra. But she was shot out of her amazed stupor and as she heard Jiraiya yell his releasing jutsu and slam his hand on Naruto's stomach, making her yelp in worry._

_"What the hell man!" Kitsune screeched as she crouched down to Naruto's down form as he only lightly groaned. Her eyes widened as she saw some of the outside markings disappear and she instantly felt a new wave of immensely strong chakra go through his body, rejuvenating him and making his raw power going up extremely._

_"Wow..." she breathed as she looked into his blue eyes that were dazed in confusion._

**-**


	6. Training Can Be Fun, Right?

**_A/N:_**_ Thanks for reviewing: _IMAGINATOR_ (you're awesome), _ZombieBlood, cooltony101neo, DeExil, the man that never was, actionliker, VyseN, _and _Dragon Man 180. S_o I was actually watching Shippuden and saw Naruto in his four tailed transformation and it TOTALLY got me off my ass to write this! My fangirl love for you, my beloved Naru-chan, has gone up ten fold!!_

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**-**

**Episode 6 : Training Can Be Fun, Right?**

**-**

**-**

The next morning, things had started out normal for the most part. Kitsune had demanded that they still sleep in the same bed the previous night, arguing she just wanted to keep warm with the help from his body heat and also that it was now easily big enough for both of them. They had gone to bed on opposite sides, not even facing each other, yet they'd woken up with their arms around each other and legs tangled, making Naruto wiggling out of it with a heavy blush, him the first to wake again and so the only one to really know.

Kitsune had run to the store when Naruto was in the shower and had bought some fruits, cutting them up for breakfast. Naruto was welcomed with, to him, the not too happy healthy breakfast after he'd come out of the shower, Kitsune herself satisfied to have some fresh food that wasn't made by just adding hot water. After they'd both changed, Naruto into his habitual orange suit and Kitsune deciding to wear the same orange pants but with a tight black shirt (still deciding it was too hot to wear much else), they decided to head out.

They'd gone off at around eight thirty to meet Jiraiya for Naruto's training, the young ninja so exciting Kitsune had to hold him back by the collar so he couldn't sprint ahead.

Contrary to Kakashi, Jiraiya was already at the bridge that they'd decided to meet at the night before at the ramen shop, the old sage immediately leading them to a river where he said he'd start Naruto's training, which was exactly what they were doing now.

Kitsune lazily sprawled out on a flat river rock, glad to finally get some sun, as she watched Naruto try and walk on water for the first time with Jiraiya. She closed her eyes and grimaced as she heard him curse (a word he'd learned from her) and the splash of water he created as he fell in. She opened them again to find him at the river's bank taking off his drenching wet clothes with a sour expression. She furrowed her eyebrows at his thin frame, noticing that he held an enormous amount of chakra that was somehow being suppressed, the reason for making him struggle.

"Come here kid," Jiraiya ordered after the fourth time Naruto had fallen in. Kitsune's bored face turned to curiosity and she cart-wheeled over to Jiraiya as well, wondering what he'd do to Naruto.

She gasped as she saw the intricate pattern that fanned out from his belly button on his flat stomach when Jiraiya had ordered him to focus his chakra. But she was shot out of her amazed stupor as she heard Jiraiya yell his releasing jutsu and slam his hand on Naruto's stomach, making her yelp in worry.

"What the hell man!" Kitsune screeched as she crouched to Naruto's down form as he lightly groaned. Her eyes widened as she saw some of the outside markings disappear and felt a new wave of immensely strong chakra go through his body, rejuvenating him and making his raw power going up extremely.

"Wow..." she breathed as she looked into his blue eyes that were dazed in confusion.

"Sorry to scare you Foxy, but it had to be done. It seems that his chakra flow was being blocked and I cleared it up for him," Jiraiya informed as he crouched down to look at a still dazed Naruto next to Kitsune, having moved his head to her lap.

She smiled faintly in relief as she stroked one of his whiskered cheeks on his face, Naruto smiling himself and leaning into her touch with his eyes still closed. Jiraiya glanced back and forth between Kitsune and his new apprentice before he sighed and a ghost of a smile came onto his face, remembering how he used to be so young and carefree too at one time. The sage got up and put his hands on his hips, deeming the punk of a boy had had enough time to recover.

"Well, get him up. We don't have all day to sit around."

**-**

Kitsune awoke slowly and unwillingly the next morning. It was a bit like the famed hangover: you spent the night high as a kite, and then you woke up with a headache that could kill the grim reaper. Crossly, she staggered into the bathroom and changed into a baggy pair of sweat pants and a sleeveless short shirt in a trance, accidentally poking herself in the gum with her toothbrush while brushing her teeth, and so causing another curse to flow through her lips.

She turned off the facet with a jerk, but a sudden burst of chakra made the handle snap clean off, making her groan and say yet another curse word a young lady herself shouldn't know, or use, just yet.

Finally, she exited the bathroom, opening the closed door with a kick as her hands pulled her mass of curly hair into a high ponytail. She groaned loudly as she saw that the door was now clean off it's hinges from her kick, landing on the ground with a loud thump. She snorted as she walked around it; now putting clips on to hold back her bangs, deeming to deal with the broken piece of wood later.

"Well, it seems like I know what I have to do today," she said to herself as she looked at her hands that were almost glowing with overflowing chakra.

Annoyed that she had to do a tedious thing today, she finally looked around for any signs of Naruto and found that her favorite ninja was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, I guess it's better that Naruto's not there when I do it," she whispered to herself, her angered mood dying down for a second.

With a new huff of energy, she walked to the fridge, sighing in relief at seeing she had gotten the last apple. She bit into it with vigor before looking around the kitchen, finding with contentment a small note from Naruto, his name being the only other word rather then her own name (that Naruto had taught her) that she knew.

She tore it open with her index finger with ease and looked at it, still crunching on her apple.

"Doesn't he know I can't read?" she questioned with furrowed eyebrows, making a new growl escape her throat. She flipped it over and jumped in surprise when she saw a sloppily drawn picture of him and Jiraiya training, or at least what looked like a picture of them with what she guessed was a giant toad. Apparently he did remember.

She sighed as she threw the now finished apple core into the sink to deal with later, putting the note back on the counter. Walking to the clothes drawer again, she opened one of the smaller top drawers that not many clothes were held. She peaked in and smiled as she saw a little bundle of fuzzy orange fur.

"Hey, Kota," she whispered as she poked the small creature with her finger gently, making the animal jump up on its four legs and then bound on top of Kitsune's head, making her laugh a little.

"Almost forgot about you buddy. You all better?" she asked to it even though she knew it couldn't understand it her in this language. She'd learned that Kota had gotten sick quickly after she'd found him and so had let him sleep and recover, giving him milk in the morning and night quietly so not to wake him. But now that he was all better, as demonstrated as he jumped down to her shoulder and rubbed against her neck, it made Kitsune's morning look up a little.

Her eyes lit up as a sudden thought came into her brain, an idea that would make her tedious chore become a little easier.

'_Want power?'_ she asked it in a few series of noises that sounded nothing like words, yet the fox snapped it's little head up with gleaming eyes.

'_Yes,'_ Kota replied with a loud squeak and gleaming eyes, making Kitsune smile.

Unknown to many, every animal species had their own language they spoke with each other and because she'd grown up with foxes she could talk to them in their own language, if not a little bit choppy, as she'd just demonstrated with Kota, since she wasn't of the species and so didn't have the same vocal cords or mouth pronunciation needed.

So without further ado, she strutted to the window and leapt down to the street, landing easily but gaining a few stares from people going by. She lazily walked through the streets, Kota happily perched on top of her head.

"Hey Senpai!" Kitsune exclaimed as she saw Kakashi walking in the opposite direction she was going on the street, quickly approaching her.

"Yo Kitsune. What's up?" the older ninja asked as he actually looked up from his book.

"Um...just going out…to…train," she stumbled slightly, but ended it with a big grin, making Kakashi raise an eyebrow as he could tell she was obviously lying with her unable to make eye contact with him.

"Alright then, I won't hold you up," he said as he moved to the side and allowed her to pass, which she did with a final smile and wave of one of her large hands.

He watched her walk down the road, accidentally bumping into a few people and trip once, a conversation with the Hokage in the recent past popping into his head.

_- Flashback -_

"_Are you certain Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked quietly as he looked at the vanilla folder that he held in his gloved hands that had tightened, threatening to tear the papers and information._

_The third part of the Chûnin Exams had ended just a few hours ago and Kakashi was hoping to get some rest before tomorrow when his training with Sasuke would most likely start._

"_I'm almost positive, especially after her displayed skills today and her easy way through the forest. Please keep an eye on her, Kakashi. Investigate if you can, but make sure not to corner her or else _it _may come out…" Sarutobi ordered with solemn and serious eyes, Kakashi nodding an affirmative._

_He took one last glance at Kitsune's picture and her big and goofy smile, very similar to Naruto's, before handing the folder back that held astonishing information that even shook him, and leaving._

_- End Flashback -_

He blinked as he saw her thin body start to melt in the large crowds on the streets, her hair swinging from side to side as she walked in her long strides.

"No time like the present," he whispered to himself, remembering how he was allowing Sasuke to have a little break right now and was expected to be back soon, and then probably wouldn't have a chance to examine her in a while.

Dog tagging his most valuable possession and pocketing it, he bounded up; easily able to track Kitsune's smell and her unique chakra output while at the same time masking his own.

"This looks like a good place," Kitsune thought out loud as she stopped in a clearing that had a big, flat rock in the middle and that was about five miles from town and not in or close to any team's training grounds as far as she could sense or smell.

"Ok now," she said as she picked Kota off of her head.

'_I'm going try it. May hurt. You good with?'_

Kakashi, who was in a nearby tree watching, narrowed both his eyes in confusion, not having any indication at all of what she'd just said. All he could hear were odd noises that sounded like something that would come from an animal, unknown to him that Kitsune was talking fox again.

He furrowed his brow as he heard the small fox squeak back, Kitsune nodding as if understanding him.

"If you say so," Kitsune said out loud as she nodded, now in the human language Kakashi could easily understand.

Kakashi watched with focused eyes, his sharingan spinning, as she approached the rock. He watched as she took out a kunai and slit one of her wrists and held it out, tilting it so all the blood would fall onto the stone. For about thirty seconds she did this, having to slit her wrist a few times cause it'd heal up, her face and skin paling from the loss of blood. She then retracted her wrist and licked it once, the half healed wound now closing up completely with not even a slight scar.

He continued to watch in fascination as she now took her index fingers and dipped them in the fairly big puddle of blood in the middle of the stone and started to draw symbols. It first started with a big circle and then various characters spun out from it, including a few of her own handprints. The almost all knowing copy ninja realizing the formation as a transfer jutsu, but the specific shapes were still foreign to him. It reminded him of the heaven sign she'd used for her wing-jutsu, making him wonder once again where she really was from and what her origins were.

With a sigh, she did the last part, using up almost all the blood, but still a little was left in the middle of the circle, where she placed Kota who was standing up tall in his tiny form, head and tail held high and not at all affected that he was standing in a puddle of his master's blood and was no doubt going to be changed soon.

Kitsune quickly started doing hand signs while murmuring something that Kakashi couldn't understand, her hand signs drawing a blank in his brain too as to what she was going to do.

In a bright flash, he watched her jam her palm onto the area in her chest where her heart would be. She gasped as she retracted the hand, a ball of black energy coming out with it that was so powerful there was a wind coming off of it that made all the trees sway, making Kakashi grab extra hard on the trunk of the tree he was hiding in. He felt something fall from one of his pockets, but he ignored it as he was too focused on Kitsune and her odd ritual.

Kakashi's eyes, now wide, watched as Kitsune took that swirling ball of immense black chakra and put it over her fox Kota.

The signs and characters made from her blood suddenly started to glow and then seemed to move to Kota whose furry body was being covered in the blood that was creeping up his legs, the black energy crackling around its body. It cried out as it grew about three times the size, now it's body about the same size as a medium sized dog. But what didn't shock Kakashi was the size of the body, but was when a new tail popped out to make it now have a count of two.

Kitsune panted as she slumped down to sit on the ground as Kota collapsed on the rock that was now clean of any blood.

Kakashi was about to leave, thinking he'd seen everything she was going to do, but stopped when he saw her raise her slightly shaking hands and started doing a very old, but powerful, sealing technique.

He deemed naturally she was going to do it to Kota, but was disturbed again as he saw her slam the hand onto her heart area again, causing her to double over in pain and lightly whimper.

Desperately wanting to go down and demand what the hell she was doing, he bit his lip as he knew he couldn't. The Hokage had also given him orders that no matter what he saw he was not to disturb it. He waited for two tense minutes as he glared down at the two unmoving bodies of two different species before Kitsune finally twitched her head up.

Kitsune groaned as she stood up again on slightly unstable legs, coughing violently and spiting out some blood, before picking Kota up again.

"Well, didn't know you'd get so fat and heavy," she thought out loud grimly as she picked up the animal with a little effort, cradling it to her body and kissing it lightly on the muzzle.

"I also had no idea how you'd get a new tail, I think I gave you too much. At least this means I don't have to get ride of _excess chakra_ for quite a while," she continued to say in a pleased voice as she started walking out of the clearing back towards the village, leaving the seemingly unchanged clearing and hiding instructor.

Kakashi slumped against the tree trunk and released a sigh he'd been holding almost the entire time. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, wondering how, why, and what in the world that seemingly normal girl had just committed.

He jumped down and walked to the rock, finding that there was barely anything on it, except when he took a double take he found that there was a extremely small twelve-pointed star in the middle that seemed to be imprinted there in red, most likely some blood from the jutsu Kitsune had performed on Kota that somehow got carved into the rock.

With a final last glance at the shape, he leaped back into the forest, Kitsune herself not far off and had found something very interesting too.

"Hey look, a book!" she gasped as she leaned down with a light groan and picked up the small, bright orange book. She'd just started to walk back towards the town and had seen this in her path.

"_Make-Out Paradise_? Hey, doesn't Kakashi-sempai read these?" she asked as she sniffed it, finding that it was indeed Kakashi's and his scent on it was very fresh.

"No!" she gasped as she stared down at the book that suddenly had a haunting aura to her.

"I wonder...if he saw…" she dawdled as she sprinted back into the clearing. She approached the rock and put the book and Kota down, going on all fours and smelling around the rock.

"Holy shit…" she groaned as she smelt his scent all over, obviously there not minutes ago.

"I was so occupied with Ko-chan and the chakra transfer that I didn't sense him..._I'M SO STUPID_!" she yelled before standing back up and slugging Kota over her shoulder and picking up the book again, deciding not to dwindle at the place in case he came back.

For the second time, she started walking back towards the village with a quick pace, many thoughts swimming through her pretty head.

"Oh well…I trust him, and Gramps too…I think, no, _hope_," she thought out loud as she walked around a tree.

"I shouldn't worry about it too much," she nodded her head once in confirmation, deciding to go for the most optimistic outcome (like Naruto) and not to dwell on depressing subjects.

"And anyway, I've always been curious as to what these books are about…" she said as she looked down at the pocket size book, opening it to the first page with a small, curious smile.

**-**

Kakashi's fist twitched in hesitation before knocking on the door of the Hokage. He'd sprinted all the way here from the clearing in no less then four or so minutes and was a little short of breath, wanting to tell the leader everything he'd seen.

When the old Hokage had opened his door and had seen the silver haired ninja in the slightly flustered state he was in, he ushered him in right away and Kakashi began to tell what he'd seen.

"Truly amazing…" Sarutobi mumbled to himself after the entire story in thought, a small smile gracing his face.

"Do you know what this means?" the old monarch asked with new zeal in his wrinkled face.

"The village is in danger of her being near," Kakashi said in a stern voice that he barely ever used, a small pang in his chest at the statement because he really only knew Kitsune as a carefree teenage girl very similar like Sakura.

"Kakashi, please. You are the only one other then me who knows of this guess to her origins. And you and I are also the only ones who would even know what those origins _were_."

Kakashi blinked at the new information, clearly not knowing this.

"You mean no one else knows about the…_village_ except for us?!" he gasped out, feeling his mind was already at its limit for today.

The Third Hokage looked up to stare at the one visible eye of Kakashi, a sad smile gracing his features.

"All hard information has been destroyed except for a few books scattered around the entire world and people who may have known about it have either forgotten, not wanting to remember the horrible event that happened there, or have died. Truly sad, really. We could have learned from their mistake and then the Fourth wouldn't have had to die. And such an amazing, innovative civilization…"

"But how?" Kakashi asked, "The entire population was slaughtered by that _demon_. We checked everywhere for any remaining life so their strong blood line could live on."

"Didn't you ever wonder what _happened_ to that demon? How does Kitsune have so much power? And also, did the fourth _really_ make that jutsu all by himself…?" The old man questioned, giving hints at the answered further beneath the surface.

Kakashi groaned at the overwhelming information that twisted his look on reality before slumping down into one of the guest chairs.

"So she's the last one?" Kakashi finally decided to as many thoughts, good and bad, swam through his brain.

"No. And that's the _really_ interesting part…" the old man broke off with a wide smile and a bright gleam in his eyes.

**-**

"Well, what matters now is that it's over with and you're still alive and well," Kitsune said to herself as she petted a sleeping Kota that was laying down on the bed.

She'd just gotten back had given Kota a nice, warm bubble bath in the tube. He had woken up about half way on the walk back and had jumped out of Kitsune's arms to shakily stand and test out his new body, his eyes widening as he saw the new tail. He'd run around so much that he'd exhausted himself, his body still weak from the power transfer, and so had fallen asleep right after the bath.

"I wonder what Naru-chan will think of you…" she thought out loud as she put a finger to her lips in thought.

"I think I'll go visit him," she said with a smile as she jumped out the window, leaving Kota to himself.

She hummed as she walked through the village, still trying to figure out Kakashi's book that made a few people raise their eyebrows if they knew what the series was really about. After she'd gotten back to the apartment she'd changed into some of some of Naruto's clothes again, this time lose black shorts and a plain white shirt, keeping her hair up in the ponytail but she took out the clips to let her bangs fall over her face like usual.

Glancing up at to see where she was, she found that she has subconsciously walked to the ramen stand. She shrugged her shoulders before pocketing the book and approaching the small restaurant and requesting three orders out, hoping that Jiraiya liked ramen. Carefully, she balanced the three closed bowls and cautiously walked the rest of the way to the river she knew they'd probably be training at like they did yesterday when she had sat in.

She smiled as she saw Jiraiya and Naruto not far off in the late afternoon's rays walking towards something. She started to run towards them, careful to balance the ramen, and was about to call out to them but she lost her voice as she saw Jiraiya push Naruto over whatever they were just looking down at.

So shocked, she stopped dead in her tracks, the ramen falling from her shaking hands to splatter onto the ground.

Jiraiya turned around at the sound, and his eyes became solemn and his face guilty as he saw Kitsune's pale face and frozen state.

"Kitsune, it's not-" but he was cut off as he saw her glare at him with smoldering golden eyes and revealed sharp fangs, making a shiver of fear go down the his back, which hadn't happened in quite a while.

He gasped as he saw her sprint, and without the slightest doubt, jump into the cavern after Naruto, Jiraiya in desperation trying to grab her so she wouldn't, but found that she was much too fast.

Looking down at the seemingly endless cavern, he started to worry at the thought of either or them not coming back out. But his fear was destroyed when he heard a rushing of air come up and the toad lord with both Naruto and Kitsune on its head appear.

"You alright Kitsune?!" Jiraiya yelled up in relief. He was pretty sure Naruto would be able to sustain himself, but he wasn't sure about Kitsune because he had yet to see her skills, even though that glare did get his heart beating a little faster.

"Hey, what about _me_?!" Naruto yelled as he threw a shaking fist in the air. "If I didn't have to ride this toad I would pummel you!" he added with a glare, Jiraiya not the least bit frazzled by his declaration.

"We're fine," Kitsune cut in as she rubbed the top of Naruto's spiky head in admiration, making him stop his jerking actions.

"Well kid, tell you little _girlfriend_ to get off, it's just you and me now," Gamabunta ordered as he blew on his pipe.

"Fine you _ugly amphibian,_" Kitsune snorted, irking Gamabunta who was glad for once that it was Naruto who was riding him and not her. To Kitsune, if it didn't have fur, it wasn't worth her time. She really dealt with mammals.

"Good luck Naru-chan, you can do it," she said with sincerity as she rubbed noses with him, Naruto readily rubbing back with a smile on his face, happy to finally see her today if not for a brief few minutes.

She gave a final wink before she flipped off the toad and landed with a little thump next to Jiraiya who sighed in relief.

"Here we go!" Naruto yelled and he was off as Gamabunta started kicking like a crazy bull.

"Come on Kitsune, I'll buy you some new ramen," Jiraiya said with a calm face as he started to walk away.

"But what about Naruto?!" Kitsune asked in worry as she saw them going further and further in the distant forest landscape and becoming smaller and smaller.

"Don't worry, Gamabunta will take care of that punk if anything actually _does_ happen to him," Jiraiya called over his shoulders, not even pausing in his walking.

Kitsune glanced between Jiraiya and the barely visible form of the giant toad and Naruto, finally running to catch up to Jiraiya, deciding that if she did try and help Naruto would just get angry at her for not believing in his strength.

"So…_why_ did you throw Naruto into a deep chasm?!" Kitsune asked darkly as she caught up to Jiraiya and walked next to him.

Jiraiya nervously laughed at her obvious anger before sighing in realization of how he'd have to tell her everything if he wanted to tell the truth. But he knew, after observing to two of them, that they were very close so she could probably take it, and deserved to know.

"Well…I'm sure that Naruto has told you that the villagers don't like him," Jiraiya started out as he rubbed his chin.

"Of course, told me that in the first couple of days that we meet. It's kinda the same for me in other towns I visit," she readily answered as she skipped over a protruding tree root.

Jiraiya warily glanced at the girl, deciding to ask for the reason later.

"Anyway, it's because he's the host of a demon. The nine-tailed fox, _Kyuubi_ to be exact, is sealed inside his body."

Kitsune stopped her relaxed walking, her eyes becoming distant and her body frigid. For some reason at the information she felt a wave of excitement rise in her heart and swell through her body, yet the excitement wasn't exactly a warm one, but a cold and hard one that would usually be felt with someone wanting to kill someone and finally finding them.

She continued walking, the blood-thirty excitement felt for only a split second before being smothered by a much more curious and information wanting one.

"And because of that, he has immense chakra and stamina, easily able to heal and do extensive techniques someone his age and rank shouldn't be able to do," Jiraiya continued to explain, snapping Kitsune out of her thoughts and jogging to catch up again.

"Incredible…" she whispered as she put a hand to her mouth to hide a smile on her face. Suddenly there was so much to talk to Naruto about.

"So you were releasing the Kyuubi's chakra flow when you did that jutsu at the river yesterday?" Kitsune asked as they approached the edge of the town, the huge village gates looming in front of them.

"Yes, how did you know?" Jiraiya asked with slightly narrowed eyes as he looked down at the thin teenager, stopping to look at her.

"Um…well, I can just see people's chakra naturally and I could feel it go free. Like…yours is very old…but very wise and still powerful, yet…" her eyes darkened as she continued to look up at the older man whose expression was set in a stone cold face, "I can feel that your heart has taken hard things. Just like Naruto…" she broke off as she started walking again. But she stopped her walking and turned around, finding that Jiraiya wasn't following her closer to the gates.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized with sincerity at his still cold face that was set on her guilty one. "I said too much," she confessed as she crossed her arms behind her back and looked down at her feet.

Jiraiya sighed and closed his eyes before opening them again, his face now set with the slightest of a smile.

"Come on, let's get you that ramen," he said breezily, causing Kitsune to jerk her head up and radiantly smile back, her mood now sky high in happiness.

"Lets go!" she cheered with energy as she stuck her fist in the air and puffed her cheeks out, marching inside the city with a still smiling Jiraiya in tow.

'_So this is what it's like to have grandchildren…'_ he thought comically to himself as he sat down at one of the ramen stools, Kitsune already talking up a storm about the great flavors of ramen that never ceased to amaze her. The only thing amazing to Jiraiya was how she was able to talk so fast and so much without suffocating from lack of oxygen or choking on her food.

**-**

"SAFE MY _ASS_!" Kitsune screeched in Jiraiya's face a while after they'd had their ramen. It had been nice, both of them talking about pointless stories in their pasts and getting better acquainted with each other. Jiraiya learned about how she was raised by foxes and was always an orphan, finally running into Naruto and staying here. And Kitsune learned about some of his minor journeys and how the sage was a writer, surprising him greatly when she brought out one of his written books.

But all that merry time was gone in Kitsune's mind at the moment as she just heard news about Naruto being in the hospital because of the frog, the reason for her harsh outburst.

"But _Foxy_…" he tried to consol with the nickname he'd given her, thinking of how her temper was rivaling his past blond teammate's.

"_NO_! You. Go. NOW!" she continued to order with all her might as she pushed the older man out the hospital room and slamming the door shut.

Jiraiya sighed in defeat, but perked right up as he saw quite a pretty little nurse walk by him, breezily asking how her day was going.

"Urgh…this is exactly _NOT_ what I needed," Kitsune said as she walked back to the hospital bed in the room where Naruto was right now, bandaged up from head to toe.

"And right when I really needed to talk you," she snorted as she plopped herself on a stool next to Naruto's still sleeping form, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm.

"Miss, visiting hours are-"

"Unless you want to die a horrible death, I advise you leave me be," Kitsune growled as she moved her head to look at the scared nurse at the door. Seeing the dark smirk that stretched over Kitsune's face, the nurse immediately excused herself, saying to this 'nice young lady' that she could stay as long as she wanted.

Kitsune's smirk left her face the second the nurse left, replacing it with a passive visage that just stared at Naruto's sleeping form.

"I could maybe…no. Too awkward and I don't even know if it'll work on humans...I've only tried it on animals. _Out_ of the question," She stated to herself as an idea popped into her head that was immediately shot down.

"But, knowing him, he's gonna be mad at me when he finds out he's lost all the time to train if he doesn't wake up soon…" she argued with herself, getting up from her stool to start pacing.

"Alright, I wait for five days and then see if he wakes up. If not…I'll wake him up then if he's angry I'll just promise to teach him a new jutsu that'll blow Neji away," she paused her pacing in thought, making sure that all the flaws of her plan were worked out and found that they were.

"I'm a freaking _genius_!" she exclaimed before she sat down at the stool again, this time contently with a large smirk.

She sat there for a few seconds and looked out at the moon, finding it was about a third full, meaning that she had some time before she would transform again.

Suddenly feeling her eyes start to droop, she rubbed them quickly to try and rub away her exhaustion, refusing to fall asleep.

"I'll just…rest my eyes…" she whispered as she couldn't help but her eyes after some time. She felt her body slip and fall forward, her head landing lightly on Naruto's chest.

She continued to keep her eyes closed, her body finally relaxing as it heard the calming beat of Naruto's persistent heart.

"You're so interesting Naru-chan…" she whispered before she fell into a light sleep.

**-**

**-**

**END OF EPISODE 6!**

**-**

**Preview for:**

**Episode 7 : Bring It To Win It!**

_Shikamaru glanced over to Kitsune who was deathly pale as she watched the fight with Neji and Naruto continue. He narrowed his eyes as he saw her slide her hand under her jacket to grab her smooth collar around her thin neck. But it was still hidden with the jacket collar so Shikamaru couldn't see, making his curiosity hike up even more as he had really no idea of what she was doing, or trying to do._

_"Please...please..." he heard her whisper with closed eyes, her face flushing in effort..._

**-**

**-**

HAVE A VERY **NINJAFUL NEW YEAR** EVERYONE!!

_hiya!_


	7. Bring It To Win It!

_**A/N: **Thanks to these awesome people for reviewing the last chapter:_ ApexPredator, DeExil, Dragon Man 180, Paul Evans, IMAGINATOR, _and_ Archontic. _And watch out! This is a SUPER LONG chapter, the longest thing, period, that I've ever written I think, plus it moves pretty fast to make up for the other two slower chapters before. Enjoy._

**-**

**-**

**Episode 7 : Bring It To Win It!**

**-**

**-**

Naruto felt weird. Like he was floating...in…black nothing…

But he was restless, he _needed_ to get up! Struggling his energy together, he tried to search for a way out.

Kitsune sighed as she looked at Naruto's sleeping form, absently drawing it. She had gotten bored in the two days that she'd been waiting, occasionally sleeping for an hour or two, yet never leaving the room unless to go to the bathroom. Kota was nice enough to sniff her out after he'd woken up and get her things she wanted. She had started drawing and had soon filled up two sketchbooks, on her third, of random stuff and animals, but mostly people she knew or had seen. But sometimes her hand moved on its own and would sketch pictures of people who Kitsune didn't know in the least. But she would just shrug and continue to another picture, thinking it just to be her imagination taking over.

Her quick pencil movements stopped as she saw Naruto's eyebrow twitch. She put down her sketchbook and leaned forward in anticipation as she saw him furrow his eyebrows in sleep and start to groan, as if coming out of his deep sleep.

"Naru-chan, wake up! Wake up!" she whispered continuously as she took one of his hands in her larger ones and lightly squeezed, allowing some of her chakra to go into him. She leaned forward and touched foreheads with him as if trying to get closer to his thoughts.

Naruto was running, trying to escape this odd blackness that felt like nothing, when suddenly a flash of bright light appeared in front of him, making him run in that direction, the closer he got, the more the soft voice called him.

Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open and he gasped out for breath as he jerked his body back and then up, making his head collide with something else that was very hard.

"Ow…" Kitsune moaned as she rubbed her forehead that had a big red spot on it from Naruto jumping up and colliding heads with her.

"Kit-chan!" Naruto breathed out as he rubbed his forehead too, an identical soar appearing.

Kitsune stopped her grimace and turned towards Naruto, finally seeing that he was just as awake as her.

"Naru-chan!" she exclaimed to the heavens before launching herself on him, hugging him fiercely. Kitsune finally relinquished Naruto from her hug after a long minute, which right after he breathed a gulp of air to fill his starving lungs of much needed oxygen.

"I'm so glad you're up! You've been asleep for roughly…" she broke off to glance down at the stopwatch that she had started to count the time, "42 hours, 18 minutes and…7 seconds!" She stated as she clicked it to a stop, lifting her head to grin at him.

Naruto blinked before bounding out of the white bed and yelling "I have to TRAIN!" He looked out and found that it was late morning, making him sigh in relief at having time before night came.

"But Jiraiya is busy. He came this morning to tell me that he'd be gone for three days. Then he'll help you train for the next two weeks or so for the exams," Kitsune explained as she sat down at the stool.

"Super..." Naruto sighed sarcastically as he slumped down to sit on the side of the hospital bed and then lying back down, as if he had been defeated.

"But I could train you," Kitsune blurted out after a few seconds with a dead serious, straight expression as her face hovered above his, the proposition making Naruto raise an eyebrow in thought.

"Really?" Naruto asked as he sat up, Kitsune moving her face out of the way to avoid another painful head collision.

"Why not?" she shrugged as she got up and threw him his orange jacket and pants, Naruto finding that he was only wearing a pair of heart-patterned boxers (she'd bought for him) and a black shirt.

"Yeah, actually it sounds good, you've traveled a lot so you probably have picked up some cool jutsus," he answered as he slipped on the clothing, Kitsune turning to face the other way to give him some privacy though he really didn't care all that much.

"Alright, lets go!" he exclaimed as he jumped out of the hospital window with a whoop of excitement. Kitsune rolled her eyes before grabbing her stuff quickly and throwing it in a pillow case before jumping out too, catching up with the hyperactive ninja while leaving the nurses to guess where both of them had gone to.

**-**

"So what are you going to teach me?" Naruto asked as he and Kitsune stood in a flat grassy field that they'd gone straight to, not even bothering to stop at the apartment for supplies, Kitsune lazily throwing her pillow case full of stuff under a nearby tree.

"What do you want to learn?" she asked in a slightly bored tone as she picked her ear, flicking away some stuff that she had found inside. Truth be told, she liked fighting, but not exactly in the competitive life-or-death status, and more in a way to exercise her mind and body while having a good time.

"Something that'll beat Neji _senseless_!" he cheered with gleaming eyes, a slightly dark spark in his eyes going off. Kitsune resisted the urge to shake her head at his enthusiasm to beat down someone, she guessed she'd never really understand guys sometimes.

"Well, his fighting has smooth rapid movements in a precise and controlled format…very opposite to the way you fight, sporadic and edgy with raw power," Kitsune explained as she put a finger to her lips in thought.

"Are you saying he's better?!" Naruto huffed, feeling his anger spike up.

"Not at all, no, no!" Kitsune said in defense as she waved her hands in front of her and giggled, lightly amused at his flustered state.

"You better," Naruto snorted as he crossed his arms and stuck his lip out as if he was pouting.

There was silence for a few seconds before Kitsune gasped as an idea came into her mind.

"Ok Naru-chan, we're going to teach you in something similar to Neji's fighting way."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, clearly confused.

"I mean that we're going to work on you defensive movements since you offensive is good enough. I'm going to teach you a more disciplined, straightforward, yet smooth, fighting that you can use to go against Neji. That way, he may be more accustomed to it, but it'll make it easier for you to dodge when you're in the same 'groove' as him. I made it myself some time ago when I visited the waves country while studying the movement of water. So naturally, I call this style '_water bending'_ because you're moving like water," Kitsune finished with a nod of her head and smirk, her pigtails briefly swinging with the movement.

"Sounds boring," Naruto snorted as he lifted his arms above his head to stretch and yawned, not really listening to her droning on and on.

Kitsune smiled sweetly as her eyebrow twitched violently. "You'll _DO_ it _MY_ way, _got it_?" she asked in such a dark and creepy voice that it made Naruto feel like he was being disciplined for committing the worst possible sin on this earth.

"Yes, Sensei," he squeaked as he stood up straight, not wanting to feel her wrath that was probably much worse then Sakura's. He'd learned that women were scary.

"Now, start from the basics. We first need to get your body more flexible. Do what I do," Kitsune instructed sharply. She lifted her hands above her together and stuck out her left leg and then arched her back and leg so that her left foot was able to touch her hands. She grabbed her foot and moved her leg and back a little more, creating a rough circle with her body while still balancing on her right leg.

"Um…_hehehe_…that's the basics?" Naruto asked as his face fell, already feeling the pain of the bendy poses.

**-**

"How are you so flexible and smooth Kit-chan?" Naruto groaned as he and Kitsune laid down in the field. It was now well into the night, the moonlight helping them along. They'd done stretches for a very long time, but then moved on to slow close combat that continued to focus on moving the body, not power.

"I'm actually really not, you know how much of a klutz I am," she said blandly, Naruto eagerly nodding in agreement at the well known statement, holding down a chuckle at the few times she'd made a scene because of her her long legs and big feet.

"It took me a while too, but when we finish conditioning your body, you'll be more used to it so don't worry too much over it. I'm just good cause I'm really focusing hard to make _you_ better," Kitsune said simply but with no real emotion, her thoughts elsewhere.

"You alright Kit-chan?" Naruto asked, easily knowing her well enough to sense the emptiness in her voice. He flipped over on his stomach to look at his friend across of him who had her eyes closed, her face oddly calm.

"It's just…nothin," she gave up as she flipped over to not face him.

"Tell me!" Naruto whined as he grabbed her shoulder and flipped her over to face him, his cerulean eyes intensely starring into her plain hazel.

"Do you really have a demon inside of you?" Kitsune blurted out, scrunching her face up after the question because she felt ashamed for asking something on such a touchy subject. But she'd been wondering about it ever sense Jiraiya had told her and it'd been eating her on the inside slowly.

Naruto blinked at her obviously distressed state, but then actually started to think over her question.

"I guess it'd explain a lot of things," he finally said as he moved back on his back, lifting his head to the sky where the stars were all out, being able to identify a few constellations that Kitsune had taught him on the Hokage monument, the memory suddenly feeling so long ago.

"Like what?" Kitsune asked as she kept her own eyes on Naruto's now soft and calm face, the slightest of a smile on his young face, Kitsune surprised greatly at his easy feelings about the subject.

"For one, way before you meet me, I failed the genin test and the coworker of Iruka, Mizuki, betrayed the village and manipulated me to steal a scroll. He dishonored me and almost killed Iruka, accusing me of having the nine-tailed fox spirit. I didn't really believe him back then, but now…I guess I do," he smiled lightly, Kitsune engrossed in his past stories.

"And then, right before we meet, my team went on a mission to the land of waves…" Naruto started again as he continued on to tell the entire story of death, perseverance, but also success.

"So…Zabuza and Haku died…?" Kitsune asked with wide, sad eyes, yet amazed at the entire story.

"Yeah…I felt really bad for Haku…" Naruto scowled at the mental image of his dead body lying next to Zabuza's flashed in his head.

"What about Zabuza? He saved Haku and they helped ease each other's pain…" Kitsune thought as she closed her eyes in thought, wishing there were more people like that who would help others.

"Well, when _I'm_ Hokage, nothing like that is going to happen _here_!" Naruto stated as he sat up, his fists pumping in the air with his foxy grin as he turned to look at Kitsune, his canines lightly brushing against his bottom lip.

"I'm sure of it," Kitsune agreed with a small smile, continuing to keep her eyes closed and so not seeing Naruto lay back down.

There was silence for a few moments before Naruto broke it again.

"Do you care if I have a demon Kit-chan?" the spiky haired teen asked with a hint of worry and insecurity in his voice, but his words were slightly slurred, as he was obviously tired.

"To tell the truth, I'm kinda happy…cause…" she broke off for a moment and as she fluttered her eyes open to look at the stars before closing them again.

"I think that I'm kinda in the same situation…" she whispered, waiting in anticipation for Naruto's response. After two minutes of silence, she cracked open one of her eyes and looked over to find that Naruto was already deep asleep.

Sighing, she lifted a hand and traced the three whiskers on his cheek with her long fingers before taking that same hand and moving it over her heart that was deeply beating, a deep secret lurking inside.

She looked back up and blinked as she noticed his head was moving around as if trying to find a comfortable place to put it. She silently moved her body and lifted his head so that his head was now resting on her soft shirt covered stomach. She could see him lightly smile as he rubbed his cheek into her stomach, content at a much more comfortable, lightly squishy, surface to the hard dirt ground.

Kitsune lifted her arms above her head as a pillow for herself and soon she was fast asleep too, the weight of his head on her stomach both calming and resilient.

**-**

"I'm_ exhausted,_" Naruto complained as they walked through the streets roughly a day and a half later at about four, the late afternoon light illuminating the buildings and various people walking through the streets.

They'd been sparring yesterday for nine hours, and today for eight, and it didn't help that Kitsune was harsh on him, beating him senseless quite a few times for no using the more smooth technique when he reverted back to his usual one in panic. She was more skilled then he thought in her fist fighting and Naruto, even with his good healing, still had quite a few bruises and cuts from their frays, now deathly afraid whenever Kitsune held a weapon of any kind as he learned she was anything but great in aiming and had almost taken off his head a few times with a kunai. Kitsune, on the other hand, was deeply impressed after the three days of training, surprised at how well he was getting accustomed to the new fighting technique.

"Naruto, Kitsune!" They heard a voice behind them and turned to see Iruka was approaching them with a light smile on his scared face.

"Iruka-sensei/senpai!" both the young ninjas exclaimed at the same time, their tired moods lifting a little.

"Where have to two been these past few days? The town has been oddly quite without you two causing ruckus," he joked as he started walking in their slowed strides.

"Training to beat Neji!" Naruto exclaimed with a big smile, Kitsune having one of her own and nodding in confirmation.

"Well, sounds like you guys could use some ramen to help you along," Iruka said between a smile as he saw the stand quickly approaching, a few people already there.

"Sounds great!" Naruto exclaimed as he bolted off to secure them three seats square in the middle, Kitsune and Naruto sitting on either side of Iruka.

"So I heard you got knocked out while training Naruto, and also that Kitsune never left your side for a moment. The nurses found it quite _romantic,_" Iruka said right after they ordered their ramen, Naruto had been jumping in his seat in excitement, but stopped to glance over Iruka to Kitsune who was lightly blushing.

"Really Kit-chan? What did you _do_ in all that time?" Naruto asked with wide, curious eyes.

"Um…mostly I drew," she said with an uncertain, light smile.

"Can we see what you did?" Iruka asked in a coxing, gentle voice he often used with his younger students to convince them to talk or agree with him.

Kitsune glanced between the two males before lightly sighing and handing over one of the three notebooks, Naruto's and Iruka's eyes widening when they flipped through the first few pictures.

"Look, it's me!" Naruto said with glee as he pointed to a sketch of his young face in a big smile, his tongue sticking out.

"Wow, these are pretty good Kitsune," Iruka said as he flipped through them, recognizing some of the genin who were now in the third part of the exams.

"You did _all_ of these?" Naruto asked as he continued to flip through the book, growling when he saw a picture of Neji's emotionless face.

"Yeah…" Kitsune admitted in chagrin while rubbing the back of her head, a light blush on her cheeks. She never, when she _did_ get to draw, show her works to anyone because she was scared that they weren't any good. But at seeing Naruto and Iruka liking them, she felt a surge of pride go through her.

"Here's your ramen, guys! Enjoy!" the old shop attendant said with a smile as he gave them the three bowls, both Naruto and Kitsune so hungry (only eating a few snacks over the past three days) that it only took them little time before they had already eaten four bowls, Iruka cutting them off as they ordered their fifth.

"Well, good luck you guys, see you around!" Iruka called after an hour at the ramen stand, having to go back to his apartment to grade papers and such.

"Wait, Sempai!" Kitsune called as she temporarily left Naruto to jog up to the teacher, who had raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I want you to have this," she admitted quickly with a hint of self-consciousness as she took out one of her sketchbooks and flipped through for a second or two before she finally found the one of Iruka's face that was in a soft smile, ripping it out with a swift pull.

"Oh…well, thank you," Iruka said with a light smile, surprised with the gift.

"See you around! I may be coming around to help you with the school when Naru-chan is training with Jiraiya!" she called out before following Naruto who was already walking back towards the apartment.

Iruka glanced at the sketch of his face before his eyes went back to the young couple, Kitsune rubbing Naruto's spiky head as she lightly laughed. The teacher shook his head before turning away with a smile, similar to the one on the sketch, on his knowing face.

**-**

"No! NO! _NO_!" Kitsune yelled as she punched Naruto in the face, and quite hard too. The poor blond could do nothing to stop his twenty-foot face-plant skid into the ground before colliding with a tree.

It was the next morning and Kitsune and Naruto had decided to just go and train, Kitsune informing that Jiraiya was going to come back some time around noon. And, like before, Kitsune was having a hard time drilling the new fighting technique into Naruto's thick head, him always seeming to resort back to his usual rash fighting style when he started getting desperate or feeling cornered.

"You use the style _I_ thought you dammit!" Kitsune continued to scold, so angry that she was cracking the ground while stomping over to him.

"But Kit-chan..."

"SENSEI!" Kitsune yelled as grabbed him from the collar and brought his dirty face up to stare at her blazing eyes.

"Sorry,_ sensei_, but I don't like this style, it's too boring!" Naruto whined.

"Too bad, you're going to learn this if it _kills_ you!"

"Foxy, I think he's taken all he can for today, or he _will_ die," Jiraiya said with a slightly scared face as he approached the two of them. He'd just returned from his light trip this morning and had just found Kitsune and Naruto training in a clearing, seeing how Kitsune had violently punched and defeated him.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto cried in relief as he tried to struggle out from Kitsune's death grip on his jacket collar.

"Fine! Have him!" Kitsune sighed as she chucked Naruto at the old sage who was surprised at the sudden action, so didn't have time to think and dodge, Naruto's head going straight to his stomach and knocking the air out of him.

"Thank the Hokage _spirits_!" Naruto cried as he looked down at Jiraiya who was trying to regain his breath.

Jiraiya pushed off the boy and got up again, groaning at the pain in his stomach.

"Hope you have fun," Kitsune snorted and was gone in a second later, off to do only-god-knows what.

Naruto sighed in relief. Kitsune was usually not violent in the least, but during the time that she had been training him he felt like he'd never been so beaten up in his life, making his see a different side of Kitsune he thought wouldn't exist, and making him want the peaceful side of her back.

Kitsune oddly frowned as she kicked a pebble in one of the town's streets a few minutes later, having just deciding to leave Naruto with Jiraiya to do whatever they were going to do.

She lifted her head up when she saw a young girl and mother walk past her, both smiling and laughing. She stopped and continued watching them, seeing them meet up with a man and a young boy, obviously the father and a brother. The boy punched the girl lightly on the head, intending to be friendly, but it actually made her start to cry, causing the parents to start cuddling her.

Turning away from the family scene, she continued on, suddenly wondering who her parents are (or were), and where she really did come from.

She shook her head a second later to get rid of those depressing thoughts, thinking of how Naruto never knew his family either, yet he never dwelled on it. She sighed again as she remembered how harsh she was on him today, deciding to make it up to him later somehow.

Not really thinking of where she was going, she went to the flower shop to say hi to Ino and then buy some more flowers, using up almost all the money she had left. She walked to the hospital and gave some of those flowers to a still sleeping Lee and then went to the old Hokage and gave him another bouquet of flowers, him accepting them with a raised eyebrow. They talked for a little about nothing much until the old man was called away to a meeting, Kitsune saying bye with a fake smile, really wanting to talk to the interesting leader a little bit more. Finally, she went to the school, entering with a puff of smoke with another few flowers for Iruka, which he accepted with an even more questioning expression then the Hokage.

"Look, it's the _beotch_!" Konohamaru said with a big smirk, his other two friends grinning too.

"Konohamaru!" Iruka bellowed, making all the students cower. "Don't EVER use that language in my classroom! Actually, _NEVER_ use that language!" he continued to scold, a now smirking Kitsune behind him, sticking her tongue out at the boiling grandson.

"You should be very grateful that a kunoichi like her has come to visit our classroom. Now, what _are_ you doing here Kitsune?" he asked as he turned around to look at her, Kitsune dropping her teasing face just in time and replacing it with an overly sweet smile.

"Well, I was just wondering if you needed any help. Naru-chan and Ero-sennin are training," she said, deciding to say the nickname Naruto had given to his new sensei, making Iruka's eyes slightly widen, thankfully none of his students understood the nickname.

"Actually, that would be nice," Iruka said with a light smile after he thought it over. But the students groaned and started to try and hide under their desks, already knowing from previous experience of how violent and harsh she could get.

**-**

"Ok, that's enough for today Naruto. Come back here, at the river, tomorrow at eight tomorrow for more summoning practice and chakra control training," Jiraiya said to the blond headed ninja before he started to walk away, Naruto noticing with a roll of his striking blue eyes that he was heading towards the hot springs again, and _not_ the guy's part.

"Ok…" Naruto sighed, already tired from Kitsune's training (beatings, he thought it was more like) this morning and then more strength and chakra training with Jiraiya, along with tries to summon Gamabunta again, which he angrily failed at.

He dragged his feet as he went back to his apartment, a few people on the road raising their eyebrows at seeing he was alone and not with Kitsune (the 'odd girl' they called her).

"Welcome back Naru-chan!" Naruto was greeted with when he opened the door to his small apartment. He sniffed and gagged as he smelt something burning, noticing that it was coming from the kitchen.

"Look, I made cookies!" Kitsune radiantly smiled as she showed him a sheet that had black lumps of what he could only guess were the cookies she was talking about.

"Good...job…?" he asked as he tried to shrink away from the burned beyond belief food that Kitsune seemed to be extremely proud of. She had actually made them in a 'I'm sorry' kind of gift for her constant punches and kicks.

"Try one!" she gushed as she pushed the sheet even closer to him. He glanced between her and the black food before hesitantly grabbing one off the tray. He closed his eyes in anticipation before ruefully taking a bite.

Coughing violently at the dry, carbon filled, gross taste, he looking up with watery eyes and gave a shaky smile and thumbs up, not wanting to feel her wrath in telling her they tasted like crap. Kitsune squealed in delight before hugging him, giving him the excuse to cough up the burnt bits behind her back and chuck that, along with the other uneaten part of the burnt beyond belief cookie, out the window, ignoring the sound of someone yelling from the street, obviously having been hit.

He sighed in relief as he drank a tall glass of milk a few minutes later to get rid of the taste, deeming that both Kitsune's and Jiraiya's training, even together, weren't as bad as that one bite.

**-**

The next few weeks passed by fairly uneventfully. In the morning, Naruto would train with Jiraiya from seven or eight to twelve, have an hour break to eat lunch, and then train with Kitsune from one to six or seven. With Jiraiya, he learned to control his chakra and was conditioned to gain more raw strength and stamina (not that he really needed it). Then with Kitsune, he was learning the new 'water bending' technique as well as a few cool moves that she'd also made up and was teaching him.

At the end of each day he was dead tired, but he never stopped going, Kitsune's shouts of encouragements when she did sit in on his training motivating him even more. And sometimes, to his horror, Kitsune would have made some concoction in the kitchen when he came back that he dreaded, even more then her fists, to taste as she always made him do.

The said blond ninja groaned as he opened his eyes and starred at his ceiling. Today was the day of the final phase of the Chûnin Exams and he hadn't slept at all.

Yesterday, Kitsune had transformed into her fox form, both her and Naruto relieved she didn't transform today. He didn't have any training that day and they had decided to just do pranks, although Kitsune couldn't do that much to help except warn him when people were coming.

Naruto brought himself back to the present and warily glanced around, remembering how when she did transform back she was entirely naked. But when he heard the water running from the shower, he relaxed, knowing by the collar that it was Kitsune and was obviously up and well. He got up with a grunt and went to the kitchen, so nervous that he didn't even make himself breakfast, just deciding to sit down and drink a glass of milk.

Kitsune hummed in the bathroom while she pulled her golden-orange mob of hair into the everyday pigtails after her shower, her damp bangs falling into her eyes lightly. There was a tight ball of excitement building in her stomach as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, but it was replaced by something else as her eyes feel on the black fox ears that sprouted from her head.

When she'd woken up today and looked at herself in the mirror, she'd jumped about five feet at the sight of the still large fox ears. She'd tried many things to get rid of them, but they wouldn't go away, and she didn't want to waste chakra on a constant genjutsu. And when she tried wrapping them or hiding them with a hat, the itchiness was unbearable, so she had just decided to leave them be in the open.

She sighed and finished tying the bow for her right pigtail with orange ribbon, then straightening one of Naruto's jackets she was wearing again. She stared at herself in the slightly dirty mirror, eyes focused solely on the ears that stood out like a sore thumb, and one thought kept reappearing. _So weird_. It was perfect: there could be nobody on earth more different than Kitsune felt right now and she _hated_ it.

"Mornin Naru-chan," Kitsune said, trying to sound happy, as she drooped herself around him from the back of the chair to give him a hug. He said the same back with a light smile and watched her as she herself walked to the fridge.

He glanced up at her head while she walked by and gagged when he saw two black things were coming out, but still not exactly knowing what they were.

"K-Kit-chan…" Naruto stuttered as he pointed a finger at her head.

"What?" she asked as she turned around, Naruto now seeing that those black things were just fox ears.

"You didn't transform all the way back!" he said with awe as he stood up and went over to her, lifting his hands to rub her ears.

"Yeah, makes me look like a freak," she said, but couldn't help but smile and lean into his calming rubbing, Naruto himself liking the soft feeling.

"Don't worry, I think they're kinda cool. But we better get going or else we're going to be late," Naruto admitted as he lowered his hands and looked at the clock, making Kitsune pout at the lose of the blissful feeling and also at the thought of having to fight already.

"So, I'm fighting Neji today…" Naruto thought out loud as they walked through the streets, people snickering at seeing that they were wearing identical clothing, except Kitsune didn't have any shinobi sandals on.

"Naruto, as long as you stick to the style I thought you and your training from Jiraiya, you'll blow him away," Kitsune encouraged as she rummaged through the holster that was actually attached to her orange pants today, usually removed. She wasn't used to having shuriken or kunai weapons to use, having lived almost her entire life in the wild, Naruto allowing her to use some of his for this fight today.

"But_ I_ have to fight Temari. And I can't use my signature wing jutsu or else I'm going to be blown away!" Kitsune pouted as she slouched her shoulders, absently twirling a kunai on her index finger, making Naruto warily take a step away to widen their gap in case the kunai slipped off.

"Wanna trade?" Naruto joked as they approached the stadium actually right on time, many of the other contestants already lined up. But both Naruto and Kitsune noticed that Dosu and Sasuke weren't near, Kitsune not at all affected, but Naruto now slightly worried. A few of them gave observant glances at Kitsune's fox ears, wondering how and _why_ they were there.

Kitsune, though, noticed that Hayate had been replaced by someone else that she didn't know and wondered why, hoping nothing bad had happened as that was all too often the case in shinobi communities.

"First match: Naruto versus Neji," the new instructor Genma, if Kitsune heard correct, said while chewing on his senbon before ordering the other contestants to the higher platform. But before Kitsune left Naruto, she remembered to rub noses with him and say good luck, and then went to cheer him on from the platform.

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked across to Neij who was starring at him intensely with an emotionless face.

"KICK HIS PRETTY BOY _ASS_ NARU-CHAN, I _KNOW_ YOU CAN DO IT!" Kitsune yelled with all her might right before the signal to start happened, her voice now loud and encouraging, making Naruto's smirk grow and his chest to puff out slightly, determined to prove Kitsune right.

Genma finally yelled begin, and so began their intense battle of will against fate.

Naruto waited for Neji to make the first move, as his new stance was mostly about defense and breaking down the other's offense. Soon, impatient to get this over with, Neji gracefully charged.

Naruto dodged Neji's fists and bended to the side, balancing on his hand for a split second before releasing chakra into his feet and springing out, spinning his entire body and landing a devastating kick to Neji's stomach. Naruto landed, a grin on his face; even though the move looked pretty easy, it needed precise movements that depended on near perfect balance, something Kitsune had helped him greatly with.

"That's my Naru-chan!" Kitsune said to herself as she eagerly leaned over the railings. Shikamaru, who was next to her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at her overly hyper mood, but even more when he saw her large fox ears that were perked towards the direction of the battle.

"When did Naruto learn that fighting style? It's so unlike him," Sakura thought out loud in the stands as she saw Naruto do a spinning back flip that propelled him all the way over Neji, flinging kunai and shuriken as he went over, attacking the Hyuga from the air.

"Kitsune-san taught him. She told me once when she got flowers, and I've seen a lot of them together recently, as well as the entire town. It's kinda cute, don't you think?" Ino informed, sincerely smiling as she'd accepted the odd pair.

Sakura blinked in surprise, now knowing where Naruto had disappeared to, before turning back to the fight.

"Damn!" Naruto swore as he was attacked by Neji's signature 64 palm strike, struggling to stand again.

"Fight me like a man!" Naruto yelled as he openly stampeded at Neji, who was surprised that he wasn't crippled yet.

"DUMBASS, USE _MY_ STYLE!" Kitsune yelled from the platform, making Shikamaru and practically every other contestant become temporarily deaf.

But Naruto didn't hear her, or chose to ignore her, as he continued to attack Neji with his usual fighting technique, making Kitsune groan and hit her head on the railing in frustration.

"_IDIOT_!" she yelled, her fox ears pinned against her head in anger, even though she knew Naruto couldn't or wouldn't hear her.

The fight continued to intensify, Kitsune noticing with worry that the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra was slightly starting to seep through in Naruto's desperate state to win and survive, grateful at least that he knew how to control it. And with each punch Naruto received, Kitsune felt herself pale even more, worry even more.

Shikamaru glanced over to Kitsune who was deathly pale as she watched the fight with Neji and Naruto continue. He narrowed his eyes as he saw her slide her hand under her jacket to grab her smooth collar around her thin neck. But it was still hidden with the jacket collar so Shikamaru couldn't see, making his curiosity hike up even more as he had really no idea of what she was doing, or trying to do.

"Please...please..." he heard her whisper with closed eyes, her face flushed in effort.

"_YAHHHH_!" Naruto yelled, punching Neji in the jaw as he emerged from the ground, shocking everyone, Kitsune jumping high in the air a second time today from the unbelievable hit.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto," Genma stated as he looked down at Neij who was unable to get up from his cratered position, Naruto barely standing and panting nearby.

"DAMN _RIGHT_!" Kitsune yelled before jumping down and sprinting over to Naruto, catching him in a fierce hug that knocked his remaining breath out of him.

"You were so awesome! You didn't even use the style and you won!" she gushed when she'd released him.

"I think I deserve some kind of prize," Naruto joked as he waved to the crowd, loving the attention he was getting that he'd never experienced before.

"I think you do too. Here," Naruto turned his head to her with a confused expression. But his eyes widened when she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush furiously and rub his neck in chagrin.

Kitsune took his hand in hers and raised it high, making the crowd go into another surge of applause, deeply surprised at his skill, before the two walked back over to the platform, Kitsune still holding his hand tightly in hers.

When they got there, Kitsune removed her hand to start biting her nails in aggravation, her fox ears now drooping.

"What's wrong Kit-chan?" Naruto asked as he gave her a wide smile, the high of winning and her kiss far from over.

"Well, Sasuke-teme isn't here, right? And I've been around town these past few days while you were training with Jiraiya, and a lot of people came to see just that fight. I'm just worried of a revolt or somethin," Kitsune expressed as she leaned back on her heels.

"We'll postpone the fight of Sasuke versus Gaara. Because Dosu isn't here to fight Shikamaru, Shikamaru automatically wins by forfeit."

"That actually _wasn't_ a drag," Shikamaru sighed as he crossed his arms and his body relaxed, glancing up at the clouds in the sky.

"So we will move onto the next fight, Kabuto verses Shino."

"I forfeit," Kabuto said as he rubbed the back of his neck, making Kitsune squint her bright eyes in wonder of why, having the impression he was someone who would never turn down a fight.

"Then we advance to Kitsune and Temari," Genma called as he continued to chew on his senbon, annoyed at how the fights were turning out.

Kitsune smirked before jumping down from the ledge once again (but not before she rubbed noses with Naruto), Temari calmly coming down from the stairs a few minutes after.

"You may-" but he was interrupted when a whirlwind of leaves appeared, revealing Kakashi and Sasuke.

"Hey you guys!" Kitsune said happily as she waved her hand enthusiastically, Temari just glaring at the intrusion.

"Hello Kitsune," Kakashi said with a hidden smile as Sasuke only 'hm'ed a reply, but oddly didn't make eye contact with her like usual as his eyes were on her fuzzy black ears. Kakashi's eyes too focused on them for a brief second, making his eyes widen the slightest bit, before moving his eyes back to her face, remembering to keep his composure.

"Please exit the area, the fight is about to start," the adviser said to Kakashi and Sasuke, knowing he shouldn't switch it now since it was just about to begin, making the crowd start to boo and throw various items down in the stadium.

"HEY! It's my turn, so just wait a god damn second, _please_!" Kitsune boomed out with authority, stressing the last word and successfully quitting the crowd for the most part. "And I _promise_ it'll be a good fight," her voice continued to yell as she stripped off her jacket and threw it down nearby, revealing the tight lycra black shirt underneath, her collar now open for everyone to see, and glaring at Temari who stood across of her, yet to say a word.

"Let her fight, we'll wait," Kakashi decided for Hayate before appearing in the crowd and Sasuke into the competitor's corner.

"Finally! Thought that you had chickened out on our fight for a little," Naruto glowered as Sasuke appeared next to him.

"From how you're acting, I'm guessing you won your first round battle?" Sasuke snorted as he turned to the two girls in the arena, ignoring the bloodthirsty look Gaara was giving him not twenty feet away.

"Course," Naruto said with a smirk as he, too, turned his eyes down to Kitsune, eager to watch her fight again, yet not as eager as he was to fight Sasuke.

"Now bring it, _skank,_" Kitsune said darkly as her eyes flashed with determination.

"No problem, _slut,_" Temari shot back with an equally dark face, the signal to go given in the next second.

Temari immediately opened her deadly fan and swung, making Kitsune blow back at least twenty feet, wobbily regaining her footing with a few black flips after the wind had died down.

"I'm going to squish you, _animal freak_!" Temari yelled as she swung her fan once again. But this time Kitsune grabbed two kunai from her small pack on her backside and stabbed them into the ground and held on, not being blown away again.

"Bring it on," Kitsune said darkly as she yanked the kunai out from the ground and charged, holding them out in front.

She jumped up and tried slashing her with the kunai, but Temari blocked in just in time with her fan. Kitsune easily landed on the huge thing and peaked over, mockingly smiling to a shocked Temari. But she swung her fan again and Kitsune was forced to back flip away to a safer distance, almost colliding with a tree.

"You're so weak, I'll be able to easily beat you," Temari yelled for everyone to hear.

"That's so untrue, Kit-chan is the most powerful girl I've ever known!" Naruto growled to himself, Sasuke standing next to him as he watched the fight with concentration.

"She does have very good abilities…" Sasuke muttered as he watched Kitsune sprint with speed before trying to kick Temari, who blocked her yet again with her giant fan that Kitsune landed on again.

"Hiya!" Kitsune yelled as she jumped up from the fan, above it, and rolled her body into a ball, cutting through the wind and crashing into the sand ninja vertically.

Kitsune now ducked behind Temari and punched her square in the back, making Temari gasp in pain. Kitsune then bounded up and grabbed the fan, twisting around twice to gain momentum before chucking it away.

Genma dodged the deadly fan just in time before it went into one of the arena walls, Kitsune nervously laughing as he shot her a death glare, himself holding down the want to spit his needle at her.

"Bitch!" Temari gasped as she got up, her most valuable thing in fighting now deeply embedded into a stone wall and impossible to get as Kitsune stood in her way, plus her back muscles were at the least sprained, if not torn, making her not have enough strength to use the fan anyway.

Temari got up from her crouched position and charged at Kitsune, kunai and shuriken now in her hands. Kitsune's eyes widened and she barely dodged every weapon, a few of them skimming her lose pants, one knicking her cheek and causing a few drops of blood to fall down her face.

"Crap! I _hate_ weapons!" Kitsune said with a growl as she did the splits in mid-air to avoid two shuriken, inwardly scolding herself for not practicing with weapons before with Naruto.

"Got you!" Temari yelled as she threw ten kunai at once just as Kitsune landed on her feet. With a yelp, Kitsune back flipped just in time, but gasped as she landed with not so much grace, her foot having caught something.

She looked down, barely still standing, and saw the hole that Naruto had jumped out of in his match with Neij, her foot having gotten caught in it, making her say a string of curse words at herself for her clumsiness and inattentiveness, knowing Temari had probably been cornering her to the area.

"Now!" Temari yelled with a smirk as she threw a kunai at her before Kitsune could yank her foot free, skillfully planning this scenario out. But Kitsune twisted back and to the side to avoid the sharp weapons, making her twist her ankle violently; a sickening pop and crack could be heard. Temari smirked darkly as she started walking closer to Kitsune to deliver the final blow.

"_We'd love to play with you more…_" Kitsune said in a dark voice that didn't sound at all like her and glared up with glowing gold eyes, "_But our body needs rest right now_." Temari shuddered at the tone and eyes, recognizing it as similar to Gaara's, maybe just as bad.

Soon, her body was gone in a flash and Temari looked around the arena for her in frantic fear before feeling an intense shot of pain near her neck and everything went black.

Kitsune blankly starred down at the slumped form of Temari who she had just knocked unconscious from a chop to her neck joint.

"Victor: Kitsune," the jounin instructor called with a raised hand, officials running in to take away the unconscious sand village kunoichi and pull out the giant iron fan that was embedded in the wall, a few starting to go towards Kitsune who was just regaining her bearings, wincing as a stab of pain went through her heart and head simultaneously.

"_KIT-CHAN_! Your ankel!" Naruto yelled as he bounded down, pushing away the officials, Sasuke and Shikamaru calmly following.

"It's fine?" she blinked as she stubbornly ignored her head and heartache, her eyes turned quickly back to brown yet again before any of the boys could see the golden color. But when she looked down her leg and saw that it was bent in a disgusting angle, the socket obviously out and bones broken, the sight was so overwhelming that she stumbled back before slumping down, having to hold down a sob from pain that was now coming in harsh waves. Naruto kneeled down and looked frantically from her ankle to her face that was drastically distorted in pain, wondering what to do, Sasuke and Shikamaru having the same thoughts.

"Move aside," Kakashi ordered as he appeared on her other side and kneeling to her down form, inspected her deformed ankle.

"I'm going to have to move it back in place now or else it'll heal like this with your fast cell regeneration ability. This is going to hurt Kitsune," Kakashi explained as he readied his hands on her ankle joint.

"Naru-chan, come here!" Kitsune ordered and Naruto readily followed, leaning his face closer to her distressed one.

"Stick your left hand out," Kitsune continued to instruct in a weak voice. He did so and she starred at it before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath and exhaling.

"Ok, now."

Kakashi forcefully snapped the socket back in place and Kitsune, in pain, bit down on Naruto's hand just below his pinky knuckle, sinking her sharp teeth deep into his skin, pretty much to the bone. She refused to cry as her fox ears were pinned back as far as they would go, her face deeply scrunched up from the pain.

Naruto winced at his own pain but didn't make a sound as Kitsune clenched her jaw while Kakashi continued to rearrange the bones so they were in their right areas again, her cells now starting to heal at their alarming rate in the right order and place. She finally released Naruto's hand, much to his relief, and spat out the little blood that had gathered in her mouth.

"Thanks guys," she struggled out in a strained laugh as she stood, trying to test a little of her weight on her ankle, but gasped and winced when she felt fresh stabs of pain. With a sigh of frustration, she balanced on one foot.

"Come here Naru-chan, I'll heal it, and sorry about that. I just needed something that wouldn't break when I bite," she said, Naruto once again complying with no fear. Naruto, already knowing what she was going to do, wasn't surprised when she stuck her tongue out and licked the two bit marks a few times, cleaning away any blood and making the fresh wounds close up gracefully. But a watching Shikamaru and Sasuke were shocked, Kakashi's eyes narrowing as he remembered her doing that in the clearing after cutting her wrist.

"That's weird…there are scars..." she thought as she leaned on Naruto for more support, not having much energy left from all her chakra going to re-grow her ankle. Naruto's own eyes now glanced to the half moon scars that were now a part of his hand, wondering why his own body, that was able to regenerate so quickly, hadn't just healed it right away to begin with.

Kakashi nodded his head stiffly before he went back into the stands, both Naruto and Shikamaru acting as a support on either side of Kitsune to bring her back to the platform after grabbing her jacket, Sasuke's onyx eyes glued to Kitsune's retreating form the entire time, staying for his fight.

"Last match, Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara," the senbon-chewing shinobi continued to instruct, not frazzled at all by the violence that had just occurred in the last few minutes.

"Good luck Sasuke," Kitsune called weakly over her shoulder to the dark haired boy who was now waiting for Gaara.

"You better not lose to a guy like that!" Naruto called, much louder, behind him too as he walked away with Kitsune and Shikamaru, Sasuke only lifting a hand in recognition.

Shikamaru didn't call back, his eyes on Kitsune's neck where he finally sighted the leather collar, making him furrow his brow in confusion as to why she would be wearing something like that, but answering his curiosity from before when he saw her grab something around her neck in Naruto and Neji's fight.

"Naruto, wait, I need to tell you something. About Gaara," Kitsune breathed as she and the other two boys sat down on the stairs, halfway up to their high platform. Kitsune sat with a thump and rubbed her cheek with the sleeve of her jacket she'd just put back on, getting rid of the dried blood that had come from the shallow kunai cut that had finally healed a few seconds ago.

"What?" Naruto asked with serious eyes, Shikamaru looking at her too, but with only half interested eyes.

"When I visited Lee a few days ago, I meet Gai-sensei there and he told me that Gaara had tried to smother Lee with his sand but he'd come just in time to save him. He told me…that Gaara said to him that he only lived to kill people."

As she said the last phrase, Gaara walked right past them as if they were nothing. Kitsune started to growl weakly, her fox ears pinned back again as her lip curled back to reveal sharp canines, but Gaara only ignored her and continued on his own way to his fight with Sasuke.

Kitsune gasped suddenly as she smelt blood and jumped up, limping up a flight of stairs as fast as she could to reveal the gruesome scene of the two grass ninja who Gaara had just murdered.

Shikamaru glanced over to an angry beyond belief Kitsune and a shocked Naruto, himself sighing at how troublesome this was getting.

"We have to stop this match before he kills Sasuke! We have to tell Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto declared as he looked at Kitsune and Shikamaru, Kitsune nodding her agreement with a furrowed brow and Shikamaru only groaning in annoyance.

"Hop on, it'll be faster," Naruto said as Kitsune climbed onto his back and he was off, Shikamaru right on his trail.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled as he saw him in the stands, causing everyone else to turn their eyes to the three of them.

"Yo! What's up?" Kakashi asked as he turned to them, giving a friendly wave.

"Lee!" Kitsune said in surprise as a smile came to her face, the bushy browed teenager giving a sparkling smile back with a thumbs up.

"Shut it, Kitsune!" Naruto snapped as he glared up at her, making Kitsune look away with a shot down face, not used to, and not liking, Naruto being angry with her.

"Kakashi-sensei, stop this match! He's not like the rest of us! He's _not normal!_" Naruto yelled, Kitsune trying to shrink away even more at the last phase he'd said, it bringing back bad memories.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Ino asked with furrowed eyebrows, her pupil-less eyes focusing on not only the distressed boy, but also the suddenly cowering Kitsune on his back.

"He's gonna kill Sasuke!" Naruto yelled with a snarl, the information causing Sakura to gasp and turn her eyes to Sasuke.

"Naruto, relax. Everything will be fine. We were late for a reason ya know…" Kakashi dwindled off as he gave his student a hidden grin.

Kitsune peaked her head out from behind Naruto's head and looked around with edgy eyes, Kakashi's ever watching eyes not missing her odd behavior.

"And I think you should worry about Kitsune more. She looks like she'd paranoid about something," Kakashi said with a narrowed eye at Kitsune, who stared back at him with slightly fearful eyes.

"Kit-chan?" Naruto asked as Kitsune buried her face back into his back, grabbing around his neck tighter.

"Something's coming…" she said with a slightly trembling voice, making Naruto's eyes widen.

"What's coming?" he questioned as he kneeled down and moved her to sit on the ground, Naruto turning around to face her.

"That's the thing, I don't know. I just have this really bad feeling…and I've gotten this before something like a flood or earthquake happens but this is so much worse…I can't explain it…something in the air..." She said for everyone to hear, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in them when she finished talking, just wanting to hide away.

"Chidori! 1000 Birds!" Everyone's eyes were snapped from a shivering Kitsune to a fighting Sasuke who had just yelled the attack, Gai's eyes widening even more as he recognized it.

"Wow! I can _see_ his chakra!" Sakura said out loud in fascination, Ino next to her equally transfixed.

"That demon in Gaara…I can hear it…" Kitsune whispered in intension for Naruto to hear, but he, along with everyone else, didn't hear her as they were focused on Sasuke.

"NO! _STOP_!" Kitsune yelled, but it was too late as Sasuke stabbed his hand into the ball of hard sand, Gaara's scream following a few seconds later.

"_NO_!" Kitsune yelled as she tried to run forward, ignoring the blinding pain from her ankle, but was grabbed by Kakashi as she went by him.

"He's in _pain_! NO!" Kitsune cried as Kakashi held her back, her yelling and struggling starting to create a scene.

"Oof!" Kakashi sounded as she elbowed him in the face and stomped on his feet and kicked his shins, but still made sure to not use her injured ankle. "Gai, help me hold her!"

The other genin watched in a mix of emotions as Kitsune struggled against the other two Jounin, trying anything to get away, even biting Kakashi's arm and trying to claw Gai's eyes out.

"Why do you want to save him?!" Naruto snarled as he appeared in front of Kitsune, a deep face of anger and betrayal on his young face.

"He's like _US_ dammit! WE HAVE TO _HELP_!"

But her screams were unheard as many started to fall asleep suddenly under a genjutsu that started to travel through the arena, the soft feathers falling silently through the air. Kabuto, who had initiated it, wickedly laughed to himself behind the ANBU mask. He'd escaped from the hospital after his almost fatal fight with Kitsune a little while ago with his special healing jutsus and had immediately reported to Orochimaru who still had orders for him to do, this one of them. He deeply wanted revenge on Kitsune for humiliating him, but he knew he first had to carry out his orders else he'd be punished.

"Kai! Release!" Kakashi and Gai said at the same time as they let go of a limp Kitsune who fell on top of an equally knocked out Naruto.

"Kai! _Release_!" Sakura struggled as she looked around, finding that everyone had fallen asleep.

"Sakura, I knew it'd be good to teach you the release, now wake up Naruto and Shikamaru. You're going on an A-rank mission: pursuing after Sasuke in a four man team," Kakashi ordered as he kicked an enemy in the head, successfully cracking their skull.

"Whose are fourth? Kitsune?" Sakura asked shakily as she watched her sensei slash another sound ninja's throat with a kunai, deciding not to ask too many questions as it'd waste time.

He thought it over for a second, wondering if he should make it a five man team, before he decided to stick with his first idea.

"No. You'll be taking Pakkun," he said as he slit his thumb and summoned the small nin-dog.

"He will track Sasuke for you, now wake up the other two!" Kakashi ordered sternly. Sakura shakily nodded her head in agreement before crawling over to Naruto, finding in disgust that she had to push Kitsune off of him.

"_Wha-_? What's happening?" Naruto asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking up at Sakura, and then down to find a still sleeping and drooling Kitsune.

"We're going after Sasuke with Shikamaru and Kakashi's dog Pakkun. Come on," Sakura whispered as she started to crawl up to Shikamaru.

"What about Kit-chan?" Naruto questioned as he looked down at her now peaceful face, fairly loud snores coming out from her wide-open mouth.

"Kakashi-sensei told me to leave her. _Come on_! It's her or Sasuke!" Sakura called as she got to Shikamaru, finding angrily that he was already awake.

"I'm sorry Kit-chan." Naruto whispered regretfully as he leaned down and touched his forehead against hers for too short a time before drawing back, rubbing noses for a brief second before getting up to join Shikamaru and Sakura to follow Sasuke with the help of Pakkun.

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**END OF EPISODE 7!**

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**Preview For:**

**Episode 8 : Stand and Fight – A Drastic Step is Taken!**

_"What the?" Naruto questioned from atop Gamabunta, moving his eyes from Shukaku__ to a huge orange fox that had suddenly appeared, it's two tails, one tipped in white, the other black, swinging behind it's gigantic form, just a little smaller then Gamabunta; its two lines of razor sharp showed as it curled its lip back in its intimidating growl with its ears pressed against its head, waved of anger being sent from the two-tails towards a transformed Gaara._

_But what didn't shock him was the animal itself, but when he saw Kitsune sitting on top of it, a determined and angry expression on her usually passive face..._

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	8. Stand and Fight, a Drastic Step Is Taken

_**A/N: **Thanks a lot to:_ Mark 20020, DeExil, Dragon Man 180, GIGS:D, _and (last but not least) _IMAGINATOR _for reviewing for the last chapter!_

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**Episode 8 : Stand and Fight – A Drastic Step is Taken!**

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_"Wake up you impudent, witless Kit."_

Kitsune groaned at the vicious voice, trying in vain to open her eyes, as all she could see right now was black.

_"Or can't you...? Kukukuku..."_ the voice's laughter echoed in her head numbingly.

She moaned again as she tried to shake off the barrier that prevented her from moving, but found that whatever she tried wasn't working.

_"You know…this one could help. For a price,"_ the deep voice continued to rumble after a few minutes of silence. After another five minutes of fruitless struggle, Kitsune actually starting to listen out of desperation and panic that was now thickly coursing throughout her body.

_"Just nod your head…and you'll have all the power you'll need to save yourself…and that other boy Kit you're so infatuated with…"_

Kitsune feebly growled angrily before nodding her head, not even thinking about the consequences like usual.

_"That's my feckless Kit…kukuku..."_

Kitsune gasped as suddenly two golden eyes appeared in the darkness along with a row of at least a hundred perfectly straight, white, and sharp fangs in a wide mouth that was curved in a maniacal smirk. The eyes got brighter and brighter until she was blinded by it and her entire self was plunged into a fit of pain just as the mouth opened and seemed to swallow her whole…

"Damn!" Kakashi swore as a kunai skimmed his arm. Three seconds later, the enemy shinobi who had thrown the weapon at him had a kunai embedded into his heart as a 'thank-you present' from Kakashi.

But suddenly, he was distracted as an ear-piercing scream cut through the air, causing him to snap his head to the place where it had come from. He was shocked, to say the least, when he saw an explosion of black chakra appear.

Gracefully, he back flipped closer to the area, throwing two kunai in the process that killed two more sound shinobi that were heading in the same direction as him.

He landed with a light thud on the top of the stairwell, and his eyes widened as he saw that the large amount of visible black chakra was coming from Kitsune. Cautiously, he glanced around, finding that the few enemy shinobi that were left were busy with other leaf shinobi, and so crept down to crouch next to Kitsune. Her eyebrows were pinched together as she ground her teeth. He clamped his gloved hand over her mouth just in time as another scream came out. Halfway through the scream, her body arched up and her eyes snapped open. But instead of the regular hazel, they were a flaming golden.

He quickly retracted his hand as a shaking Kitsune rolled over, still in pain. Kakashi was about to help her stand, but he was suddenly flung away as a sound ninja stood over Kitsune.

"Damnit to hell!" Kakashi swore as he coughed up blood, already feeling at least a few ribs broken from the chakra infused kick.

As he looked up, he saw in the blink of an eye Kitsune stand and grab the enemy's throat.

"Don't you _DARE_ hurt Kakashi-senpai…" she growled in a voice that was full of killing intent.

Before the sound ninja could choke anything out, Kitsune pulled out a kunai from her back holster and stabbed him in the stomach, dropping him on the stairs in a useless, bleeding lump.

She slowly turned around to Kakashi, who could only stare at her with his one black and spinning sharingan eye. He could have sworn he'd felt this chakra before…but from where…?

In a split second, she was at his side and had her hands on his chest, pouring some of her new black, raw chakra into him in a desperate attempt to heal his broken chest.

"Where did Naruto go?" she asked in all seriousness as she retracted her large hands from Kakashi, who was alarmed that she was able to do all that she was doing.

"He, Sakura, and Shikamaru went after Gaara and Sasuke," Kakashi said easily. He didn't know what she'd really done to him, but the pain had stopped.

Without another word, Kitsune leapt up and was on the roof of the arena stands, looking around and sniffing the air to try to find the scent of any of the five people. But she stopped her search when her bright eyes landed on a square like enclosure that was on a nearby roof.

Surprised, she sniffed and found that she smelled a wisp of the Hokage and…

She stumbled back as Orochimaru's scent of evil and snakes filled her nose, making her body shake in fear. She heard the same voice from before laugh in mockery of her panic, but she tried to push it out. She was NOT going to be a coward and run away...not _this_ time.

Still interested on the fight, and trying to ignore her persistent shaking and the laughing voice within, she perked her fox ears in that direction and pushed chakra into them to have supernatural hearing. It took a minute or two, but she finally started to make out what they were saying.

"Kohana will fall! You're all _useless_! Nothing will stop me from the destruction of this _pathetic_ village!" Kitsune heard Orochimaru sneer; making her want to punch his face in all the more, yet doubted if she would ever have the courage to do it. What she truly desired was to get away - far, _far_ away from this place of war and chaos.

"You're wrong!" Sarutobi snapped, making Kitsune's spirit rekindle slightly at hearing his sage voice.

"In Kohana every year new shinobi are born and raised. They live, fight…and _die_ in order to protect the village and those within its walls. Everyone in the village, even though we are not connected by blood, is _precious_ to me. They are my…family!"

Kitsune closed her eyes, attempting to stop tears from forming at that one word that held so much meaning to her.

"And I will fight for what is most precious to me, at all costs as any other shinobi, no matter what village, does!"

Kitsune opened her eyes that were now seemingly burning with determination, blinking away the un-fallen tears.

"Old man…" she only heard the beginning of what Orochimaru was beginning to yell back, as she had heard enough. She was now even more reassured of what she had to do.

"Time to go into action," she growled as she intertwined all her fingers together in preparation for her second original jutsu.

"Senses of the Beast!" she yelled, "Smell!" As she yelled the sense she needed, she untangled her pinkies so that they were now straight. With that motion, she released chakra and forcefully pushed it into her nose, making it at least a hundred times better, gagging as her nose was assaulted with the stench of blood all around. Biting her lip in concentration, she funneled everything out until she had found Naruto's well-known scent.

"Found you," she declared as she closed her eyes again. "Now, Sight!" she stated as she now raised her ring fingers to be parallel. She opened her eyes and slowly pivoted around to which angle she knew Naruto was somewhere in, and found him in less then a minute. She subconsciously knitted her eyebrows together in anger at seeing Gaara in the half transformed state with only Naruto bravely standing in his way.

"Release!" she yelled as she closed her eyes and broke apart her hands, breaking apart the intensified chakra cable to the two senses she had altered, turning them back to what they regularly were.

Just as Kakashi finished off the last sound ninja in the arena, he jumped on the roof just in time to see the orange outline of Kitsune leaping into the forest.

"Damn," he cursed as he suddenly coughed up blood and felt his chest pang in pain. Somehow his lungs and ribs hurt even more then before, making it impossible for him to follow, and so stop, her.

Meanwhile, Kitsune continued to leap from branch to branch, putting chakra into her legs and feet that every branch she landed on broke from the hard landing and take off that propelled her fifty more feet ahead each time.

But her jumping was interrupted as suddenly everything shook like an earthquake, making her stumble to land on a thick branch. She quickly hopped up the hundred-foot tree to the top and gasped as she saw, only a few miles away, Gamabunta (if she remembered right) with Naruto on top and some sand monster with one tail, which she could only guess was Gaara.

"That idiot!" she growled as she continued her leaping, this time making every bound at least 100 feet.

"Finally, I'm here," Kitsune wheezed as she tried to regain her heartbeat that was beating fast from the far too long sprint. She looked up and found Gamabunta doing his water style, liquid bullets that exploded with Shukaku's air bullets.

"Shit!" Kitsune swore as she was blown down from her high perch down to a lower branch.

"Kitsune?"

She turned her head to the voice as she wiped the water from her face, finding that Sasuke was looking at her with slightly wide, black eyes.

"Sasuke!" Kitsune gasped as she turned towards him. "Where's Sakura? Shikamaru?" she demanded as her fists clenched, wanting to know where everyone else was.

"I don't know about Shikamaru, I haven't seen him. But Sakura...she's over there," he continued to choke out as he pointed in the direction the endangered kunoichi was in.

"Thanks," she said before she gave him a salute and jumped in Sakura's direction.

"I'm a _failure_…" Sasuke growled in guilt and disgust at himself as he watched her jump away, not having enough chakra to bound after her.

"Damn! Now I see what's going on!" Kitsune growled as she got to Sakura, finding her being crushed by the sand. "Naruto is trying to save her," she said as she tried to pull the sand apart, finding it impossible.

"Bitch, move!" she shouted at a sleeping Sakura, wanting her to suddenly, magically jump out and run away to safety laughing hysterically.

"Ok, calm down," Kitsune whispered as herself, the odd mental image dissipated, and she tried to sooth her raging emotions mostly of panic.

"Who needs the most help right now?" she questioned as she looked up and found that an air bullet just hit Gamabunta, sending him and Naruto down to the ground in pain, unintentionally answering her question.

"Ok, I've watched Naruto do this a million times and I already have a strong connection with Kota even if it's not written on a scroll..." she consoled herself as she stood up straight and positioned her hands in front of her, slicing a deep cut into her palm.

"Boar! Dog! Rooster! Monkey! Sheep!" she did the hand signs as she said them with extreme care, it being the first time doing the jutsu, not to mention the first time using the hand signs. "Kuchiyose no jutsu! The art of summoning!" she finished before slamming her bleeding hand onto the bark, a puff of smoke coming out in the next second.

"It worked," the tall teen panted as she looked down at an innocently blinking Kota, his two tails lazily swinging behind his fairly small body.

_'Kota. Need help. I transform you. Help Naruto,' _she choppily explained in fox again, so flustered that it was hard for her to remember what to say.

Kota searched in her golden eyes for a second before nodding his furry orange head.

"Ok. Time to use that chakra," Kitsune said as she closed her eyes and positioned her hands on Kota's body.

"Come out, damn chakra!" Kitsune yelled as she poured all that she could muster into Kota before yelling, "_TRANSFORM_!"

"What the?" Naruto questioned from atop Gamabunta, moving his eyes from Shukaku to a huge orange fox that had suddenly appeared, it's two tails, one tipped in white, the other black, swinging behind it's gigantic form, just a little smaller then Gamabunta; its two lines of razor sharp showed as it curled its lip back in its intimidating growl with its ears pressed against its head, waved of anger being sent from the two-tails towards a transformed Gaara.

But what didn't shock him was the animal itself. It was when he saw Kitsune sitting on top of its head, a determined and angry expression on her usually passive face.

"Kitsune?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Isn't that your little girlie from before?" Gamabunta asked as his pipe bobbed up and down, eyeing his sword that wasn't too far off.

"Whoa! Naruto has a _girlfriend_! I thought it was that pink haired one. What a player!" Gamakichi comically added from atop Naruto's bright head.

But Naruto was ignoring the toads' comments as Kitsune turned to him, making a shiver go down his spine at seeing her sparkling golden eyes.

"Naruto!" she yelled as she held down a sob that wanted to escape her throat. For some reason, she felt like the world was taken off her shoulders at seeing that he was still alive and moving for her to see up close.

"Kitsune! What are you _doing_ here, riding that fox! Run away while you can!" Naruto pleaded as he turned his determined eyes back to Gaara, trying to think of how to get him out of his sleeping state.

Kitsune's enlightened face changed to one of despair, her mouth forming a deep frown. He didn't believe in her.

"He doesn't believe in me…he thinks I'm _weak_," she whispered as she slumped down on Kota's head, feeling as if the wind had gotten knocked out of her.

"He's being an idiot."

She snapped her head up and looked down to find that Kota's green eyes were focused on her.

"Did you just talk? In _our_ language?!"

"Yes. But we don't have much time. In this form, I can last less than five minutes at the most. Same with you. This dark chakra is eating me away from the inside out, just like it's doing to you now," Kota informed in a deep voice as he crouched down, ready to pounce as Shukaku got ready too, the sand demon thinking of how fun it was to have two against one. Kitsune furrowed her brow as she stood again, the fire rejuvenated in her eyes.

"I'll hold him down, Naruto...and you wake the bastard up!" Kitsune ordered before she motioned for Kota to jump, not waiting for Naruto's reply.

"Come on squirt!" Gamabunta yelled as he leaped after Kota and his two trailing tails, not giving Naruto the chance to argue either.

"Ahhh!" Shukaku yelled as Kota leaped up and above him and then landed on his back, digging his claws into his body to keep him still and biting his neck as to try and make it impossible for him to move his head, too.

"Wake up…" Naruto started to yell as he jumped off of Gamabunta's head while the toad master rammed into Shukaku's stomach, "_YOU FOOL_!" He ended as he punched Gaara straight in the face, successfully snapping the red head out of his induced sleep.

"You blocked my jutsu!" the Tanuki demon yelled as he pushed against Gamabunta, Kota desperately clinging to Shukaku's back even though he was only about two thirds that size of the sand spirit and no doubt less then half the weight.

"Naruto!" Kitsune called atop Kota's head in worry when she saw the sand start to circle Naruto.

"Pa!" Gamakichi yelled just as Kitsune leaped down to land next to Naruto, both of them being enveloped in Gamabunta's tongue.

"What are you doing!" Naruto yelled at Kitsune in a mix of anger and worry at the sight of the sand creeping up both of their legs.

"I…can't let you get in trouble...all by yourself...can I…?" Kitsune panted as a wisp of a smile came onto her now strained face even though she could feel that she had barely any chakra left in her body.

"Kitsune?" Naruto asked as he felt his heart suddenly start to beat faster.

"You may not believe in me…" she continued to choke out as she leaned down to rest her head on his shoulder, "But I'll always believe in you," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. Naruto closed his eyes in concentration, trying to keep her warmth around him, the slithering sand out.

"Please, just a little bit. Please give me…just enough chakra…to protect everybody!" Kitsune vaguely heard him whisper as his own arms encircled her slim body. She smiled as she remembered she had just asked that same request not ten minutes ago.

Suddenly, the sand seemed to be blown away as Naruto was encircled with red chakra that seeped out from his stomach to all around him.

"Come on Kitsune!" he yelled as he retracted his arms from around her and she did the same, now both of them standing side by side on the sand spirit's head.

"Here we come, you dumb Tanuki!" Naruto yelled as he sprinted forward, Kitsune following a second later with the last of her strength.

"No closer! _Die_!" Gaara yelled back as he brought sand to encircle both of them again.

"Damn!" Kitsune swore again as she struggled against the sand, so close to Gaara just as Naruto was.

"You…_BRUTE_!" Naruto exclaimed as he brought his head to crash against Gaara's, making the demon crumble beneath them.

Kitsune didn't really remember hitting the ground, but next thing she knew was that she was sprawled on the ground next to Naruto who was trying with all his might to get closer to Gaara.

"Get away! D-Don't come near me!" Gaara stuttered, making Kitsune's eyes soften, finally seeing a shred of his humanity.

"The pain of being alone…it's not trivial…the way you feel…I _understand_ it…"

Kitsune rapidly blinked in a futile attempt to make the tears that were clouding her eyesight go away. So what if she'd never meet another human being before Naruto? So what if she'd lived in the forest all by herself? She had had the company of numerous animals...yet...

"But…I've got people who care about me now…People that are important to me, and I won't let you hurt them!" Naruto continued to rant.

Kitsune closed her eyes as tears fell from her now hazel again eyes and her bottom lip trembled. Did that include her like she so desperately wanted? Or was he still just talking about everyone else?

"Why…? Why should you care about others…?" Gaara asked as he stared at Naruto with wide, pale green eyes.

"They saved me from my loneliness. They understand me. I couldn't live without them because… I _love_ them."

Gaara blinked at the statement as Kitsune's face became emotionless. She'd wanted the same thing for so long too…and what did she mean to Naruto anyway…? That question failed to leave her mind.

"I don't deserve your love Naruto…" Kitsune whispered before she went back into the darkness, that dark voice still laughing with it's white teeth and golden eyes that starred down at Kitsune's self conscious soul that only wanted a place to be accepted.

**-**

"How is she doing?" Kakashi asked to the medical shinobi in the room.

"She's stabilized…to _some_ extent. Hopefully she will be better in a month or two," the medic answered before leaving the room, no doubt to help another countless victim from the Sound and Sand's attack.

Kakashi had just gotten his chest examined and found that the chakra that Kitsune had poured into him had eaten away at his lungs and had seeped into his broken rips. Although it'd relieved the pain for a short time, as the medics had explained to him, it's made his injuries at least four times worst in the long run. He'd just gotten out of his short bed rest (too much needing to be done, and people in a more drastic need to be taken care of) when he'd seen Kitsune and Naruto rushed into the hospital.

"What a strange girl you are," Kakashi said as he looked down at Kitsune who was lying beneath the pure white sheets. She had numerous tubes and needles sticking in her arms and some on her stomach and chest to monitor her healing. Just like with his chest, the chakra had eaten away at her body, making her body have to re-grow quite a lot of her cells, with the medic's help. While her outside appearance seemed fine, her insides were in a bloody chaos.

Kakashi was just about to turn away, but stopped when he saw her eyelids twitch and then flutter open.

"Wha-?" she slurred in her heavily drugged state.

"Wakey, wakey," Kakashi said as he turned back around and sat on a stool, ignoring the beeping and lights of the machines.

"Senpai? How's your chest?" she asked while she turned her eyes away from him, oddly yet to give him a smile.

"Turns out that you made it worse then it already was. Odd, huh?" he said as an intended joke, but it made her eyes turn over to him before her face scrunched up as tears started to form.

"No, no! Don't cry; it was a _joke_!" Kakashi said as he waved his hands frantically, not knowing what to do if she cried. "Don't cry, _don't cry_!"

"I can't do _ANYTHING_ right!" Kitsune wailed for the entire hospital to hear, tears falling down her scrunched-shut eyes.

"Um…uh…be right back!" Kakashi frantically said before going, as fast as he could without hurting his chest, to Naruto's room that was thankfully just down the hall.

"Naruto, calm down Kitsune!" Kakashi yelled as he burst open the doors, Naruto just waking up himself.

"What happened?" Naruto asked as he struggled out of the bed, finding that he was already wearing a shirt and shorts, as he suddenly heard another wail distinctly from Kitsune.

"Just come!" Kakashi said as he pointed his hands in the direction of down the hall.

Naruto didn't need to be told a third time as he was sprinting towards her direction, ignoring the pain that shot up his body.

"Kit-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto asked as he entered the room, Kakashi deciding to just ditch the couple so he wouldn't get in trouble by the anal medics for flustering two patients in critical care.

"Get away from me!" Kitsune screamed at the heavens as she continued to rip out the various tubes and needles in her body, not caring that she was staining the floor and sheets with her red blood.

"Kit-chan, _stop_! You're hurting yourself!" Naruto yelled in a more stern voice, hoping that she'd listen to him.

"NO!" she screamed as she jumped out of bed, not caring if she was only wearing a hospital gown, having just gotten out of surgery.

"I'm leaving, I'll only hurt you. _You don't love me,_" she whispered, so quiet that Naruto almost didn't catch it.

"Kit-chan, that's not-"

"_GO AWAY_! I DON'T BELONG HERE! " she yelled with all her might, making Naruto take a step back.

Without another word, she leapt out of the window. Naruto was just about to follow her, but found that his legs wouldn't let him, too tired from his fight with Gaara that was not two hours ago.

"Kitsune!" he yelled as he stumbled over to the window to find her head of colorful curly hair was nowhere to be seen.

**-**

"I got Kakashi hurt, and tried to heal him, but then hurt him even more. I couldn't help Naruto. Heck, I couldn't even help Gaara. And Kota…" Kitsune broke off into a new fit of tears started. She was now in a clearing on the outskirts of town, too weak to go any further.

"I don't even know where he is! Some owner I am," she struggled to say as her thin body was racked with uncontrollable sobs.

"You know, you're not _that_ bad Princess."

Kitsune gasped at the voice and turned around to meet a familiar face.

"Go away Jiraiya," she said as she tried to wipe away her tears and hide the face that she was so shameful of.

"If you're wondering about Kota, he's with Kiba's sister. She's a veterinarian and he'll heal just fine. Or that's what she said when I checked him in," the aged toad sage informed with a smile.

"I'm such a dunce..." she bitterly laughed as she wrapped her arms around herself again, ignoring the good news.

"You're young. _Everyone_ screws up. You _do_ know Naruto, don't you?" Jiraiya laughed, but stopped when he noticed she looked even more somber then before.

"The one that beat Neji without needing any my help, or yours for that matter, while I let Temari get the better of me so easily? You mean the _amazing_ ninja who defeated Gaara? Who has _ten times _more guts then I ever _dreamed_ to have?" she ranted as her eyes became hard and distant.

"You give him too much credit Princess," Jiraiya said with a roll of his eyes, knowing she was too biased as it was towards the 'Blond Hero.'

"Or you give him too little," Kitsune snapped before, "And stop calling me Princess! I'm a demon," she informed sourly.

"Ah…are you now?" the white haired man asked with a raised eyebrow as he placed his hands on his hips. "You know, a lot of women have said that to me."

Kitsune raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Except we were in an _entiiirely_ different situation. One involving a _bed,_" the sage laughed as a perverted blush adorned his tattooed cheeks.

As she realized what he meant, her face, if possible, got even more emotionless; not at all amused at his attempted joke.

"Wow! You really _are_ down...I'm guessing that Naruto will be the only person who could cheer you back up?" Jiraiya continued to laugh by himself as he walked up to her. With no strength left, she couldn't do anything to protest as he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up on his shoulders.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked as he started walking back to the village.

"I'm taking you back- what does it look like? You'll not only break _my_ fragile heart if you leave (Kitsune snorted at this) but you'll probably break Naruto's as well."

"Yeah right. I just yelled in his face. I'm a horrid bitch," she said as her eyes drooped, ignoring how her cheeks suddenly felt hot at Jiraiya's comment.

Before the toad sage had any time to answer, he felt her sag against his head and looked up to find that she had fainted yet again, either from blood loss (he noted her stained gown) or just plain exhaustion.

"Kit-chan! There you are!"

Jiraiya looked away from Kitsune to see Naruto running towards them, his face flustered from running.

"How'd you find us Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as he came to a halt, Kitsune still perched high on his shoulders.

"From the collar," Naruto easily informed as he glanced at Jiraiya for a second before bringing his eyes back to focus on Kitsune who looked as if she wasn't going to wake up any time soon as loud snores escaped her wide mouth.

"What's this?" Jiraiya asked as he grabbed Kitsune around the waist again and held her up for his inspection, her head lolling back to show Naruto a nice view of her sharp teeth as her mouth was wide open, wincing as drool started to drip down. With the hospital gown, it did nothing to hide the silver ring and worn leather of the collar from Jiraiya's eyes.

Jiraiya furrowed his brow as he examined the collar further, finding quite a few interesting things that had been woven into it.

"And why, no _HOW_, did you get this on her Naruto?" Jiraiya asked in half humor and half seriousness before he slung her over his shoulders again.

"Long story, and be careful!" Naruto snapped as he took a step forward, wanting to carry her himself, but knew he was still too weak. Especially after his escape from the hospital and running around the village to try and find Kitsune. He had tried connection to her through the collar, but it was as if their connection had been cut off until he'd felt the slightest twinge and then had found her and Jiraiya.

"Well why don't you tell me about it over a bowl of ramen after we drop the Princess off?" Jiraiya asked with a waggle of his eyebrows and a double thumbs-up. If he couldn't lift Kitsune's spirits, might as well try Naruto's.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed as he pumped a fist in the air, but winced and brought down his bandaged hand.

"I swear, is it the latest craze to get excessively hurt of something?" Jiraiya muttered as Naruto lead them to his, and Kitsune's, small apartment.

**-**

"Hey Naruto, where's Kitsune?" Iruka asked.

Everyone, it seemed, in the village were at the memorial right now. Naruto, Iruka, and Konohamaru only a few faces in the vast mob as they stood together in silence, until Iruka had broken it with his question.

"She was still sleeping…so I left her in bed. She really needs to rest," Naruto informed without any real emotion. Kitsune had been sleeping so soundly, not even snoring loudly like she usually did, that he didn't want to disturb her. He'd decided that if sleep made her better faster, that's what he'd give her.

"I think you lost something Naruto."

Naruto turned around to find Kakashi, who was holding Kitsune by one of her wrists.

"Kit-chan!" Naruto said in happiness. It was true that he'd seen her sleeping, but to see her awake and moving around made a sincere smile come across his young features.

"Naruto…" Kitsune whispered lightly as her eyes adjusted from the muddy ground to his cerulean eyes.

Naruto finally started to take in her appearance and noticed that she was a little paler then normal. Her hair was down, but it was eerily straight, finally showing that it was long enough to end well below her hips. She was wearing a tight black sleeveless dress, it's bottom long enough to cover her long legs and bare feet.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked as he grabbed her hand, Kakashi having taken his leave a few seconds ago.

"Fine…" she dawdled off, feeling oddly awkward around him, her screams in the hospital still ringing in her ears.

"I have your flower," Naruto stated as he hastily handed over one of the two white lilies that were in his still bandaged hands.

A light blush adorned Kitsune's cheeks at the sight of him giving her a flower with a slightly unsure smile, and so gratefully took it, giving him a small smile in return.

"Come on," Naruto said as he grabbed her hand again and led her towards the line so they could place their flowers down.

"Goodbye…" Kitsune whispered as she placed the flower down among the vast others, her eyes oddly still dry as she was yet to cry, as she looked at the picture of the Third who had been something like a role model to her. Although she'd just meet him and they'd only talked a few times, she held him very high as he was respected by many as she'd learned first-handedly. It was odd to her to have someone she knew die, as it'd only happened a few times in her fox family when the little ones got too careless.

Naruto squeezed her hand, breaking her from her thoughts, and she turned to him with a sad smile on her face that mirrored his.

"Lets go home," he said as he continued to hold her hand and pulled her towards the seemingly empty, beak streets. Yet when Kitsune looked down at their intertwined fingers, she couldn't help but notice that the streets didn't look as horrible as they once did for her.

She tightened her grip slightly as a sudden thought of loosing Naruto came to her mind. She knew that if this pain in her chest hurt for a person she didn't know that well dissapeared, the torment she'd go through if the closest person to her passed would be excruciating.

Blinking away tears at the thought of more people going away, she held down the urge to grab Naruto to her and hide him away from the dangerous world.

**-**

**-**

**END OF EPISODE 8!**

**-**

**Preview For:**

**Episode 9 : Roadtrip**

_"A...roadtrip?" Naruto asked before slurping up his noodles._

_"Yeah, you're my apprentice after all and I thought that you'd like to come along. Princess Foxy over there is welcome too," Jiraiya said, glancing over to Kitsune who had yet to touch her bowl of steaming hot ramen._

_"R-Really?" Kitsune asked, her eyes actually sparkling with excitement for the first time that day, choosing to ignore her new nickname._

_"I mean...if that's ok with you Naru-chan. I don't want to get in the way or anything..." she dawdled off again as she started playing with her chopsticks._

_"Kit-chan, you can never be in the way for me," he smiled, Kitsune ignoring the various bites of food stuck to his face and focusing on his radiant and pure aura that seemed to always make her heart lurch in her chest..._

**-  
**


	9. Roadtrip

**_A/N:_**_ Many t__hanks to: _Dragon Man 180, Dragon of Twilight, ApexPredator, gunnslie, IMAGINATOR, Aaron Leach, Paul Evans, DeExil, Mark20020, Dragonlord-ex, Kitsune6,_ and _Jordy rox ur sox_ for reviewing the last chapter! Without any further ado, onto the chapter you've waited (patiently?) for!_

**-**

**-**

**Episode 9 : Roadtrip**

**-**

**-**

Naruto sighed as he opened his brilliantly blue eyes to the welcoming rays of the sun as they filtered through curtains that covered the large windows beside his bed. He groaned as he turned over, groping around for something to throw over his eyes so that he may be able to fall back asleep. Truth be told, he had barely slept a wink because of the death of the Third kept clouding his dreams and making him wake with a jolt.

Shortly after the funeral service, he and Kitsune had eaten at the ramen stand and then had taken a shower, Naruto going to bed before Kitsune came out. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he had failed to notice she had not joined him in bed like she always did (much to Naruto's embarrassment).

Giving up to the sun, he sat up and yawned loudly as he stretched his arms high above his head, hearing a satisfying pop as his shoulder adjusted. Finally, rubbing his eyes, he swung his fairly short legs around the side and looked up, intending to jump up and out of bed, but was instead was surprised, as he expressed it through a yelp and falling back on the bed, as he saw Kitsune intensely staring at him while straddling in a chair with her arms tightly crossed in front.

"Wh…What are you doing?" Naruto asked, clearly baffled as his wide eyes suggested.

"Watching," Kitsune said seriously as she unwound her crossed arms and placed her hands on her propped up knees, still scrutinizing his face carefully as she placed her chin on the back of the wooden chair.

"Alri-_ight_…for how long?" Naruto drifted off, resisting the urge to wince in distaste at her sharp brown-eyed stare.

"All night," Kitsune said easily, still with a straight face. She nodded a second later before she got up and started walking away towards the kitchen, Naruto noticing that her walk was more sluggish then usual.

"Well, _THAT'S_ not creepy," he snorted to himself, hoping that he hadn't snored too much or drooled last night, as he got up too and sauntered over to the kitchen where Kitsune had just poured out a glass of milk for herself.

"Can I have it?" Naruto asked with zeal, being too lazy to get his own at the moment, as he made a grab for the glass just she held it to her lips. At the sudden touch of his hands around hers, she squeaked and let go of the glass, it shattering on the hard kitchen tiles a few seconds later, causing shards to go every which way.

"Damn!" Naruto swore from a few feet away, having enough smarts as a ninja to jump away at the last second. But as he looked up from the shattered glass and spilled milk, he noticed that Kitsune hadn't moved during the crash as he'd expected.

"Kit-chan, you're bleeding!" Naruto said in worry as he saw blood seep out from the shards that had gone into her feet, trying to step closer yet not wanting any glass to cut him either.

"Oh, I'll clean it up right now!" Kitsune hurried to say as she leaned down and surprised Naruto yet again as she tried to pick up the glass with her bare hands. It wouldn't have really been a problem if she hadn't been nervous, and so was holding the glass too tightly.

"No! Stop it!" Naruto snapped as he saw the glass start to scrap her hands as well.

Kitsune, offended at his tone, suddenly dropped the glass shards again; succeeding in dropping them on her feet which she grimaced at the new light scrapes.

"Damnit Kitsune!" Naruto scolded as he jumped over the rummage to stand behind her, snaking his hands around to try and grab her hands. At the sudden close proximity again, Kitsune back flipped out of his light embrace, landing with a yelp as one glass shard that was still in her food lodged further in.

"I-I just remembered I have to-to do something," she stuttered her lie as she cradled her slightly bleeding hands.

"Let me wrap you up first," Naruto stated as he took a few steps closer to her, almost succeeding to catch her hands as he grabbed for them. He knew the scrapes were very minor, but it still annoyed him to see her hurt.

"It's alright," Kitsune continued to say shakily after she'd winced away from Naruto's grasp before she gave a wobbly smile and, before Naruto could stop her, was out one of the windows in front of his bed.

Naruto sighed in annoyance as he squatted down to where she had stood not a minute ago, seeing a few drops of her blood on the cherry floor that smelled sickly sweet with his sensitive nose.

**-**

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" Kitsune swore at herself as she looked down at her quickly healing hands, watching as small shards of glass were pushed out of her skin.

With a final huff, she plopped down on an old, wooden bench in a small park, various children running around and playing in the open field.

Grunting, she leaned over to inspect the bottom of her feet, finding that there weren't any real sores, only a few small ones to begin with, except for a thin one that was about an inch in. With a groan of annoyance, she pulled it out and held it in her hands to inspect and think back to what had just happened. With a quick flip of her hand, the shard was now in the trash basket next to her.

"I'm such a basket case," she sighed into her large hands as her long hair, which she had not bothered to put up, fell around her face and hid herself from the world. She stayed in this position, having no intention of uncovering her face anytime soon, before someone cleared their throat in front of her.

With a sigh, she looked up with tired eyes to a friendly and warm face.

"Is everything alright Kitsune?" Iruka asked with concern as he sat down next to her. He had been here with his class, as it was their morning free time, before he had seen her sit down and so had decided to walk over and sit next to her since her chakra wavelength was uncertain and slightly trembling in her obviously down state.

She chose to answer with an uncommitted grunt before leaning down to put her head in between her long legs, still having the feeling of wanting to hide away, and Iruka wasn't exactly helping her with that.

"Tell me what's happening. It always feels better once you tell someone about something that's been bothering you," Iruka explained in his teacher voice that had cajoled numerous students to do what he wanted.

Kitsune rose her head from between her legs and looked up into his warm light brown eyes that sparkled, making her wish that she at least had a shade as beautiful as his instead of her own boring brown. With a final sigh, she leaned back on the bench and crossed her arms, Iruka raising an eyebrow in anticipation.

"I'm…" Kitsune opened and closed her mouth as she tried to form words, suddenly feeling like a fish that had been ripped out of the ocean and was gasping and floundering around.

"It's alright, let it all out," Iruka said, Kitsune glancing over for a second in thought of how well a councilor or therapist he'd be.

"I feel like I don't belong here anymore," She whispered out as she glanced down at her toes that wiggled in uncertainty. "I completely failed during the invasion, not having helped one person and yet having hurt a few, and…I can't stand to let down Naruto again…"

She was silent for a few seconds, Iruka going to say something, but stopped as she straightened and got ready to talk again.

"All last night I stared at him and thought…what if I fail him again? This time he could handle himself…but…what if next time he doesn't make it? What happens…" she broke of as she gulped, "…what happens if he dies like the Third because of _I_ can't help again?"

"Now Kitsune, it's a little heavy for you to put the murder of the Hokage on your shoulders," Iruka said as he bit down a breath of laughter, thinking of how when he was young he thought everything was his own fault too.

"I don't think I'm not good enough for him. I don't deserve him," Kitsune finally admitted, as her shoulders slumped.

"Kitsune…you really don't know Naruto as well as you think, do you?" Iruka laughed as he patted her back, making Kitsune blush in both embarrassment at his amusement and stab at her pride, believing that she _did_ know Naruto well.

"He doesn't _care_ if people are flawed. He actually _likes_ it in fact," Iruka said with a soft smile on his handsome face. Kitsune was silent as she fiddled with the end of her lose shirt.

"He likes it in the way that he can see you improve, which further motivates _him_ to improve himself. He likes to see people better themselves because he knows that everyone has that ability."

"But…what if I _hurt_ him?" Kitsune finally admitted her second worry that had been plaguing herself. With that dark chakra, she had felt a little of herself slip away but had managed to keep herself under control. What if she couldn't keep her sanity next time?

"So what?" Iruka said as his smile grew larger as Kitsune's eyes widened in surprise and curiosity, herself turning her body so she could stare at his face. Iruka sighed as he leaned back on the bench, knowing he had some explaining to do.

"He's a child easy to love and easy to forgive. It's simply part of his nature in where he stretches out to everyone. He too often is the one to take the first step to apologize even if it's not even partially his fault, and then goes a step further as to give help that he really has no obligation to give," he said with a final nod as he got up, absently brushing off some dust from his black pants. "And don't worry about worthiness because he accepts anyone and everyone if they have at least strain of good in them."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to school," he said with a final sparkling smile before walking over to his current class that looked like they were in a dog pile, not giving Kitsune a chance to talk back. At his last statement…she felt her heart suddenly start to beat faster. Was the young, and yet wise, teacher really right?

"Kitsune!"

At the sudden exclamation of her name, she turned around to find a slightly panting Naruto.

"N-Naruto," she stuttered as she rose, Naruto walking around the bench to stand in front of her with determined eyes.

"I don't really know what you're feeling right now, with Gramps death and all, but…I'm sorry. And if there's anything I can-" but his speaking was cut short as Kitsune suddenly grabbed him, burying her face into the crock of his neck as her hands became entangled with his soft hair.

Hesitantly, Naruto followed suit in wrapping his arms around her long torso, liking the ginger like smell of her hair from their shampoo and her natural scent that reminded him of cinnamon and earth.

After a minute in the close embrace, Kitsune finally pulled away with a flushed face, Naruto's own surprisingly calm and collected.

"_I'm_ the one who's sorry Naruto. For being distant…and…shit, just for _everything_. I promise to be more open to you," she said as a smile bloomed on her face. Naruto's heart suddenly lurched in his chest at seeing the special smile, knowing that it was one that she fully meant and in how it was directed at _HIM_.

"Uh…no worries?" he asked in chagrin as he scratched the back of his blond head.

A sudden whistle and '_awww_'ing sound made the two teenagers turn their heads to Iruka and his group of youngsters. At the sight of Iruka raising an eyebrow in a suggestive manner at her and Naruto, Kitsune blushed deeply before burying her face in Naruto's chest, making the blond's blush go deeper also as a new wave of cheers went in the air.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast," he mumbled out for Kitsune to hear as he grabbed her wrist and lead her out of the park, ignoring a final whoop that he could guess with confidence was Konohamaru.

"Ramen?" Naruto asked as he tried to smooth down his hair that Kitsune had slightly messed up with her hands in their tight embrace.

"Ramen," Kitsune confirmed as she grinned again, suddenly feeling as if the world had taken on a lighter tint.

**-**

"Ero-Sennin?" Naruto and Kitsune asked at the same time as they stood in front of the ramen road stall, the white haired toad master turning around to give them a rakish grin.

"Come, sit down. I've been actually looking for you Naruto. I'm glad that I came here to catch you," he said breezily as he patted the stool next to him, Naruto sitting on it as Kitsune went on the other side of the young Nin. The two teenagers placed their orders, Jiraiya agreeing to pay for their meals, which made the two youngsters give wary glances at each other. Finally, Jiraiya proposed what he wanted to tell them just as their bowls arrived.

"A...roadtrip?" Naruto asked before slurping up his noodles.

"Yeah, you're my apprentice and I thought that you'd like to come along. Princess Foxy over there is welcome too," Jiraiya said, glancing over to Kitsune who had yet to touch her bowl of steaming hot ramen, as she was so intent in starring at a happy faced Naruto.

"R-Really?" Kitsune asked as she tore her eyes away from the blond, choosing to ignore her new nickname.

"I mean...if that's ok with you Naru-chan. I don't want to get in the way or anything..." she dawdled off again as she started playing with her chopsticks, still feeling a little unsure of still slowing him down.

"Kit-chan, you can never be in the way for me," he smiled, Kitsune ignoring the various bites of food and focusing on his radiant and pure aura that seemed to always make her heart lurch in her heart.

"Then it's decided. You two will accompany me on a fairly long road trip. Make sure to meet me by the gate at sunrise tomorrow," he said with a wave of his hand before he was gone in a flash.

Kitsune blinked as she stopped slurping up her noodles halfway, as did Naruto.

"Didn't he say he was going to pay?"

**-**

"Good morning my students!"

"I find _'good morning'_ a contradictory term. And I'm NOT your student, only Naruto is," Kitsune snorted to the white haired sage as Naruto trudged up next to her with his backpack.

"Don't you have anything you want to bring for the trip?" Jiraiya asked as he looked at her, only wearing Naruto's orange jumpsuit and a white spaghetti strap shirt underneath, along with a holster of weapons on her backside that Naruto had allowed her to borrow again.

"I actually don't usually even wear _clothes_ when I go out into the wild, so I will be fine. Plus I have the weapons. Totally unnecessary, but Naruto convinced me to bring um," Kitsune said with a shrug, the statement making both Naruto and Jiraiya raise an eyebrow in curiosity and uncertainty.

"Anyway, shall we start now?" Naruto asked with full zeal as he pulled on the strap of his bag.

Jiraiya simply nodded before turning to continue out the gates, and so the three took off on their journey and mission.

**-**

"I'm BO-ORED!" Naruto groaned not an hour after they'd started their journey.

"Me too," Kitsune sighed lightly, having been filling the time by picking the dirt from her short fingernails.

"Well…I WAS going to teach you an awesome new jutsu Naruto," Jiraiya said behind his shoulder with a hidden smirk, counting down to three before Naruto was in front of him with wide, excited eyes.

"Lay it on me," Naruto growled with excitement at having a chance to get stronger.

Kitsune only sighed behind them at Naruto's constant and amusing antics.

"What about you Kitsune? Will you like to learn it too?" Jiraiya asked before he took in a deep breath, Naruto watching with confused eyes as he blew up a balloon.

"Uh…I'll just give this one to Naruto," she laughed, not wanting to steal a jutsu that was intentionally for Naruto from him. She also doubted that she could do it, as she was pretty horrible at ninjutsu.

It took a little while for Jiraiya to convince Naruto to do the training, the destructive demonstration helping a lot, before Naruto started on the first phase of his training.

"So…anything you're interested in Princess Foxy?" Jiraiya asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking ahead at Naruto's back that was slightly hunched over in concentration in the task in his hand.

"Not really," Kitsune said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Come to think of it…I've never really seen your skills. Care to elaborate what you do in a fight?" Jiraiya asked as his eyes drifted down to her thin frame.

"Um…" Kitsune dawdled off, feeling awkward in talking about her skills. "Well since I grew up in the forest, away from almost all human contact since I was ten, I only learned taijutsu on my own and didn't really even know that ninjutsu or genjutsu existed. The only things I did was warp my own physical body. And when I started venturing off into villages, it was hard to pick anything up. I've really only gotten a few," she ended her simple explanation.

"So…you don't know ANY ninjutsu or genjutsu?"

"A little ninjutsu that I created on my own, and yeah, NO genjutsu."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin in thought, trying to decide what he should do.

"Alright, how about tonight at dinner you show me what you can do. Then I can decide what I will teach you from there. You may have to learn everything from the bottom up," he said as he groaned on the inside, hoping that wasn't the case.

"Alright," Kitsune said with a small smile before she laughed as she heard Naruto swear in annoyance at how he couldn't complete the seemingly simple exercise of bursting a balloon.

It wasn't long before the sun started its decent and the sky was painted in deep orange and purple, Jiraiya signaling them to stop and set up a simple camp for the time being.

Kitsune's eyes watched Jiraiya in curiosity as he did a simple fire jutsu to light a warm fire, Naruto sighing in relief as he took of his sandals and wiggled his feet in front of the flames to warm them up.

After a quick dinner of ramen, courtesy of Naruto, Jiraiya turned to Kitsune who had just finished her own bowl.

"Now, if you don't mind, show me your styles," he said seriously, gazing across the fire to the couple, Naruto rising from his down position to look between his current teacher and friend.

Kitsune did a shaky nod before standing up and walking a little away from the fire.

"I uh…really only know three that I made myself that are really worth showing," she said with an embarrassed laugh, knowing the other two people around the fire knew much more then her.

"My first one," she said simply as she started the long chain of hand signs, Jiraiya's eyes considerably widening as he saw them even at the high speed before Kitsune was covered in a puff of smoke.

"Ah! That was the one you used on Kabuto!" Naruto said as his eyes glimmered at the sight of her with the extremely large white-feathered wings that sprung from her back, just at her shoulder blades. She had taken off her jacket as so that it wouldn't get torn like before.

"Very interesting," Jiraiya stated as his eyes went back to normal while he stood up, going over to her to touch her wings.

"They're connected to your back?" he asked in shock as he saw the mixed flesh and feathers, thinking it had been some kind of weapon or appliance.

"Yeah, so I can fly," she said in a giggle before she sprung up and was in the sky, gliding over them with ease. She landed after her minute flight, doing the release of the jutsu so that the wings were gone.

"And your other two?" Jiraiya asked as he and Kitsune returned to the fire, Kitsune plopping herself down closely to Naruto again.

"The second one I made is to allow me to have more acute senses, like an animal. And then my third…well…it's really difficult and goes wrong a lot. I haven't perfected it even to this day even though I've been working on it for as long as I can remember," she said as she rubbed the back of her neck in uncertainty.

"And that would be?"

"Become a full fledged animal," she said without blinking, making both Jiraiya's and Naruto's confusion and curiosity spike.

"But don't you already do that every month in the new moon?" Naruto asked as he snuggled into his sleeping bag. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at his, remembering how Naruto had told him this but he had yet to see it.

"Yeah, but that's involuntary and it HAS to be done. I don't have any control that I want," she said with a shrug.

"So…why do you want to do this?" Jiraiya asked seriously. He had known other shinobi who had tried this, as there were many advantages, but had never gotten very far and there had even been cases where they'd mixed beyond repair.

"It's been my dream ever since I was a kit," she said lightly as she looked up at the shining night sky, "I've always seen my brother and sister foxes and wanted to be like the," she finished before hugging her knees childishly and kept a wistful smile drawn across her face.

There wasn't much more talk as they started to go to sleep, laying down on the grassy ground and looked up at the brightly shining moon and stars, making her think of her old family.

And as she sat up and looked at Jiraiya and Naruto, she had the sudden thought of how she was with her new family.

The simple thought brought a smile on her face and tears to her eyes, but she stubbornly rubbed them away.

**-**

The two weeks of traveling from town to town in search for Tsunade seemed to get more drawn out and boring for Kitsune each day. She had tired to teach herself to read the Come Come Paradise book, but found that she couldn't get very far with her little knowledge and so had given up. She tried talking and goofing off with Naruto but he was busy with his new jutsu that seemed like the world to him. And she wanted to ask Jiraiya to teach her, _anything_ really, but found that he was often busy both on and off the road and she didn't want to intrude.

It had finally gotten so bad that during the middle of one day as they were walking down a dirt road, Naruto groaning as he tried to burst open a rubber ball, Kitsune had fallen asleep while walking and so had fallen flat of her face.

"Do you need something to do Kitsune?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow as he suppressed laughter.

"Uh…kinda. If you're not too busy," she breathed out as she stood up, inspecting her skinned knees and forehead that were healing at her fast cell-regeneration rate, and so in five seconds flat were healed up. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this, noting on how the more he knew her the more bizarre she seemed to become.

"Well, you said that you didn't know any of the basics so I guess we'll start there," he said with a nod as he put away the scroll he was working on, deciding to switch from writing his newest novel to helping yet another youth.

"Um…Jiraiya-sensei?" she asked as she rubbed her bare arms, her jacket tied around her waist.

"Yes?" He asked while holding down the urge to knock Naruto on the head for another curse word who hadn't seen Kitsune's fall and so was still marching up ahead.

"I only know a few of the hand seals," she bashfully admitted, her cheeks warming up.

"This is going to be a long day, isn't it?" he sighed to himself as he rubbed his eyes before looking down to her bright face that seemed so eager. He couldn't blame her.

Now the hours seemed to fly and before Kitsune knew it, she was around yet another campfire in a thicket of trees not far from the road.

"Now Kitsune, why don't you show me ALL the hand signs WITH their names."

Kitsune gulped and nodded. She had been able to do it towards the end of the day with some confidence, but now that Naruto was here (even though he was currently engaging a bowl of ramen) it made butterflies start in her stomach.

Furrowing her brow together, she started and ended with only a few minor mistakes, earning her a few claps from Jiraiya who was very happy at her progress.

"Now, this is a simple illusion, or transformation jutsu that allows you to seem to have the form of someone or something else," Jiraiya said with the raise of his index finger, in full teaching mode, before listing the order of hand signs that needed to be done for it. Usually, this didn't need hand signs but Kitsune was bad at channeling her chakra, as he'd learned today, and so instructed her to do it like this. When she got good enough, she could do it without them like everyone else.

"I…I don't know. I'm really not that good at this stuff. Maybe I should just stick to taijutsu," she laughed lightly.

"But Kitsune," Naruto started, having finished his ramen, "You're not good _AT ALL_ with weapons and your taijutsu is good, but nothing extra extraordinary like Bushy Brows, and if you can't do ninjutsu OR genjutsu, you'll be a really BAD ninja," he said, not seeing Kitsune's major face fall and slumped shoulders at his brutal honesty.

"Naruto's right, although I wouldn't say it so harshly…" Jiraiya said as he coughed in his hand and glared at Naruto, cursing him for not knowing how to handle a woman's sensitive emotions.

"Now, how about a demonstration?" Jiraiya asked as he looked towards Naruto who had just put his sleeping hat on, intent on warming up in his sleeping bag.

"Sure," he sighed with a light shrug as he sat up, his blue striped PJs ruffling with the action.

"Alright! Ninja centerfold!" he exclaimed as he was engulfed in a puff of smoke before that of a naked, FULLY endowed, woman appeared with pigtails.

"WOW!" Kitsune cooed as she clapped, Jiraiya would have clapped too if he wasn't too busy pinching his nose to prevent a nosebleed.

"Now you try it," Naruto said with a foxy grin after he'd gone back to normal as she got up, himself giving her a light jab in the side with his elbow before sitting down.

"Um…what should I turn into?"

"Think of something that you can picture really clearly. Then…just do the hand signs and let's hope it works."

"A-Alright," Kitsune stuttered before breathing in and out deeply before doing the hand signs slowly and steadily before she was engulfed in a puff of smoke.

"Well?" she asked after the smoke had clearing and she was staring at her other two traveling companions.

Jiraiya and Naruto exchanged glances before all out laughing; looking at the form Kitsune was in that brought tears of amusement to their eyes.

"I don't know who _THAT'S_ suppose to be, but it's HILARIOUS!" Naruto said between a laugh, glad that he was sitting down, as he would've collapsed.

"This is what I looked like when I was around your age," Kitsune snarled out, making both of males shut their mouths in an instant.

"That…that CAN'T be you. You look NOTHING like that," Naruto said as he overlooked the illusion in front of him again. She was about two feet shorter then normal and she was skinnier, her legs like sticks and her chest as flat as a board, easily looking anorexic. The overly thin frame (her clothes practically falling of) deeply conflicted her much larger then normal hands and feet, making her body look way out of proportion. Her eyes and ears were too big, making her look like a deer. Her hair was a full-blown fuzz ball while her teeth were a jumbled mess of fangs that were tinged yellow.

"I'm serious," Kitsune said with a huff, her large eyes gleaming with hurt.

"Oh…well…you really grew up didn't you?" Naruto struggled to say as he stood, noticing that he was actually taller then her.

With a snort, she sat down and laid down on her stomach, hiding her face from view.

"Smooth," Jiraiya said before he laid down too, only leaving Naruto standing and ripping out his hair in frustration at himself.

**-**

"You forgot to turn back?" Jiraiya said as he hid is face in his large hand, shaking it as he hide a smile.

"So what?" Kitsune huffed as he crossed her boney arms and tried to smooth back her fuzzy monster of hair that hair-bands had nothing on.

"Well…I'll let you figure it out," he said with a laugh as he slung his bag on his wide shoulders and started on the road.

Kitsune sighed as she followed, trying to ignore Naruto who was standing next to her.

"Uh…um…" he struggled, not knowing what to say as he looked across of her, a small smile forming as he saw her nose wrinkle in distaste as he had noticed she always did when she was irritated. But the smile disappeared as he remembered WHY she was doing that cute face. Him.

"Look, I'm sorry. I just…didn't know that it was you," he sped out his apology, his eyes lighting up with hope, as her large eyes weren't narrowed anymore.

"Alright, I'll forgive you."

Naruto did a silent scream of celebration in his mind.

"If you do something for me."

His inner celebration was cut short at that statement.

"Wha…what?" Naruto said, trying not to show how nervous he was by pushing his hands into his pant pockets.

Kitsune swung around to stand in front of him, a glint in her eyes even in this illusion that Naruto knew sparked when an evil idea hatched in her seemingly innocent mind.

"Give me a picture of when you were young."

"Um…I don't know if I have one, but sure?" Naruto answered, thinking that the thing she wanted was much worse.

Kitsune nodded her head, a smile coming on to her face that showed her uneven teeth. Naruto held down a gasp as her face suddenly started to develop, as did her body. Her hair straightened and then curled, her body started to elongate and fill out, and her visible teeth got into line before becoming a little more white as her face matured and became a little more soft, and now much more prettier.

"Wow…" Naruto breathed as she finally turned around and ran up to Jiraiya, having yet to notice how she had changed back to her normal state.

**-**

Another two weeks passed before the trio came upon a town in a full swing of celebration in some festival neither of the teenagers knew and the elder didn't care about.

"Well, you two have been working hard…why don't you two go enjoy the festival while I go take care of business. I'll find you, so no worries," he said with a salute before he was gone, leaving the two friends to blink blankly before a whoop of excitement and happiness escaped from both of them.

They raced off into the large crowds, intent on doing anything and everything.

"Do you have any money Kitsune?" Naruto asked in excitement as they went down one of the streets, scanning everything before engaging.

"Not really, I only have a little because I didn't get paid a LOT in that modeling thing and I spent it all on the apartment anyway," she laughed.

Naruto nodded his head, before a few more gears in his brain moved and a sudden thought came into his brain.

"Hey, in your modeling thing, how did you make your clone look like that?"

"Well. It wasn't really a clone…not a SOLID one anyway. I remember seeing the jutsu in one of the towns when I was fairly young and was finally able to make one after three years. Then I just took that and slightly altered it to meet the what the modelers look like. Then…everything went from there."

"HAH! I KNEW you didn't have such curves!" he laughed as he suddenly unzipped her jacket to look at her actually fairly small chest.

"IDIOT!" she screeched as she punched him in the head, zipping her jacket back up with a deep blush, wondering if Jiraiya had been rubbing off on the innocent shinobi.

"Miss! MISS!"

At the call, Kitsune turned to see a group of at least six women come barreling towards her and Naruto, making her brown eyes widen in shock.

"Please, come with us. No charge, _NOTHING_! Just your time!" an extremely beautiful women in a silk kimono exclaimed as she grabbed Kitsune's arm.

"What is this?" Naruto asked as he grabbed Kitsune's other arm, keen on not letting her get into any trouble.

"Oh, don't worry young man!" a second fairly beautiful woman cooed as she stroked the side of his face, causing the blond to lightly blush.

"We're just going to take your sister here and make her beautiful, she's plain but has potential!" a third said.

"But she's already beautiful," Naruto growled, making Kitsune hold down a giddy laugh and blush, "And she's NOT my sister."

"That doesn't matter, but just PLEASE come with us," the first lady said as she did a seductive smile, making Kitsune gulp. Naruto HAD just said she was pretty…but before when she was in her younger stage he had obviously thought she was so ugly it was funny.

Making up her mind, she slid her arm from Naruto's and took a small step closer to the lady, a small uncertain smile on her face. "I'm gonna try it."

"Fine!" Naruto huffed, not seeing the reason, "But I'm coming. And you can't convince me otherwise," he snorted as he grabbed her arm again, moving his hand down to entangle his fingers with hers.

"Fine, _fine_! Just come!" the group of women ushered as they dragged Kitsune, and so Naruto, to a fairly small shop that was just a little up in street shop dirt road.

"Now, if you'll come behind this curtain," the beautiful women who had grabbed Kitsune say as she pulled the young curly haired teenager over. Kitsune, suddenly having second thoughts, yanked her arm from the women's grasp.

"What are you going to do to me?" Kitsune finally asked as her grip on Naruto's hand tightened.

"My dear," a sudden loud voice echoed, both the young teenagers turning their faces to a large women who had just come out from the back of the shop. "If you haven't noticed already, this is a SALON. We do makeup, hair, nails, and then give you a kimono to finish it off."

Naruto sighed in relief, "So nothing permanent?"

"Rather then the nails that last for a few weeks, no," the pudgy woman laughed.

"Well, COOL!" Kitsune exclaimed as she jumped from Naruto's grasp and into the room, the curtain closing shut in Naruto's face before he could enter.

"No more men beyond that point," the large woman said as she sat down with a sigh, pouring herself a cup of green tea.

"Why?" Naruto asked, holding down a growl at being separated. Jiraiya had told him to never leave her alone and to always keep an eye on her to keep her safe. He held that close to heart and was now feeling slightly at a loss.

"Because she'll be stripped down to her underwear."

"So? I've seen her in her underwear a lot. Practically every morning back home when we wake up in bed together," he said flatly.

The woman was shocked, to say the least, as she tried to cover up how she'd spat up some of her tea in a VERY un-lady like manner. She looked up after wiping her mouth to a still standing Naruto, his innocent face showing no emotion. He really had no idea what he'd just implied.

"May I ask you relationship with the young lady? Oh, and my name is Yukio," she said as she motioned with her hand for him to sit next to her, which Naruto, slightly reluctantly, did.

"Uh…I've known her for about some time now, I don't really know how long, and we're traveling together right now," he said as he watched her pour a cup for him.

"How did you meet her?" she asked, interested in how such a younger, yet very cute, boy like him had gotten a beauty on the rise like Kitsune.

"Luck?" he laughed, Yukio smiling herself at his cheerful face.

"Well, why don't we suit you up as well? Make you look handsome for your girlfriend," she said with a huff of determination as she grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the back of the shop, not giving him a chance to argue his relationship.

After about twenty minutes, Naruto was now in a light blue kimono with the simple yet beautiful design of white clouds. His waist sash was that of a shocking orange, which he'd insisted on (much to Yukio's distain), and yet it somehow managed to match with the lighter kimono. His hair had miraculously been controlled as it wasn't as spiky as usual and his bangs hung in his eyes, his forehead protector and all his ninja things put in a separate bag except for a few kunai that he'd stashed away when Yukio wasn't looking. Rather then his sandals, he was now wearing wooden slippers that he noted looked very similar to those of Jiraiya's. He didn't like how they were slightly difficult to walk in and yet liked how they made him about three inches taller.

They re-entered the main salon, Naruto finding in shock that it was very busy, as he hadn't noticed it before because he was so intent on Kitsune.

"So…how much do I owe you?" Naruto asked as he took out his trusty green frog that was bulging with money, having had enough smarts to hide it from Jiraiya because of a previous situation in a town before this one when he'd conned off money from Kitsune.

"No charge, as same with your lady friend. WE brought you here, so it's only right that we don't charge you," she said with a smile, dimples in her kind face.

"Thank you very much," Naruto said as he lightly bowed, showing more respect to elders then he usually did.

"She's done," The beautiful women who had first grabbed Kitsune on the street sighed as she came out from behind the curtain.

"She was sure more of a handful then we expected with her giant mess of hair and insisting that we didn't throw away that GOD AWFUL orange outfit. THEN she didn't want to wear shoes but we finally convinced her. And her nails...just...YUCK! Well, here she is," she cut short her rambling as the curtain was drawn all the way back from the other five women from before.

A final figure came, their face hidden by an intricate fan. But when it was snapped closed and the face was revealed, Naruto couldn't hold in his gasp as he stood in shock. Kitsune had been transformed into someone that Naruto barely recognized. Her eyelashes were elongated by thick black mascara and her lips shone with a deep red. She was wearing a three layer kimono that was low on her shoulders, the obi that was tied tightly around her small waist one of a shiny gold color with a discrete pattern of fire. Her mass of hair had been pulled back into a bun that was about as large as her head, a total of seven delicate hairpins holding it in place.

But her beautiful image was slightly shaken as she tried to step forward, but tripped on either the long hem of her kimono or her elevated wooden sandals. Naruto hurried to jump forward and catch her in his arms, her face buried in his chest that was visible through the slip of his kimono.

"You look really nice," Naruto whispered in her ear in their current position, making her squeak a thanks.

When she looked up, she also found herself gasping at Naruto's young and yet handsome face. Without his forehead protector, his face was more open and his whiskers seemed be more defined, making him look older. His eyes were sparkling in happiness, and she found that she felt lost in the cerulean pools.

"Well, you should get going to enjoy the festival. Come back at sunset to pick up your clothes." Kitsune hurriedly straightened herself, the voice of Yukio breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Um…why are you doing this for us?" Kitsune asked, making Yukio gasp as her eyes widened.

"I almost forgot! If anyone asks you where you went to look the way you did, tell them to go to _Tamamonomae!" (A/N: Means 'The Beautiful Fox Witch')  
_

Both teenagers nodded as they excited the doors, Kitsune heavily leaning on Naruto so that she wouldn't trip on her wooden shoes.

The day for both teenagers was full of fun as they went to many of the stalls, Naruto's ninja skills helping them to easily win prizes at every turn, Naruto being very proud of himself when he'd won Kitsune a large stuffed panda that she'd been looking at with want. During the entire time, both the friends did get longing looks from the opposite sex, making the other one irked if the other was hit upon. But they simply told the message of the shop and then went on their way.

Finally, after about four hours of fun and both their feet aching from the festival's festivities, stomach full of good food and arms loaded of goodies, Naruto and Kitsune were just about to head back to the shop when Kitsune noted a dance floor and the few couples that were still on it even though it was a little late for dancing. The band was doing a slower beat, and so the couples were doing a romantic, traditional like dance rather then a sporadic one like in the clubs.

"Come on!" Kitsune gushed as she grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him to the floor, both of them minding to take their wooden slippers off as it would hurt very much if they stepped on each other's feet and put them with their other stuff on a nearby table.

"Um…do you know how to dance?" Kitsune asked as she awkwardly stood there, Naruto mirroring her stiff body language.

"Not really…but it looks simple enough from the people around us," he said as he put his hands on her waist as a man next to him was doing. Kitsune did the same in her hands on his shoulders, and before long, they were starting to do their first dance.

Both hissed as the other would step on their toes, but then would laugh as Naruto spun or dipped Kitsune. Finally, they stopped as they finally noticed they were the last people and the band had finally stopped.

Blushing and blubbering, the two finally walked barefoot and holding hands to the shop that was just starting to close.

"Thank you very much!" the seven ladies exclaimed as the couple entered, making their faces go into a mix of confusion and curiosity at the simply delighted faces of those of the ladies.

"Because of you we had SO many customers. It was a great day," Yukio sighed as she handed over their bags that had their belongings in them, making the couple even more weighed down.

"Should we change here and give you back the clothes?" Naruto asked as he started to fiddle with the small bow in the back of his sash.

"No, no young man. You gave us such a profit that you're more then welcome to keep everything that you're wearing right now."

Naruto and Kitsune made eye contact before a smile erupted on both of their faces. Without much else to say, they left.

"What do we do now?" Naruto asked as he walked down the fairly empty streets, the festival still going on even though it was now well into the night.

But Naruto answered his own question as he spotted a small photo booth that had been hidden from the crowds of people earlier today.

"Wanna take some pictures?" Naruto bravely asked as he pointed at the booth that Kitsune's eyes floated to, making a smile come to her still painted lips.

"YES! Ok, one with just me, one with just you, and then one with us both." Kitsune said as she placed the little money that she had left into the machine before Naruto could.

Kitsune went in with a salute, doing a variety of faces before she switched with Naruto. He opened the curtain and beckoned her in, Kitsune finally noticing how small the booth was and how she had to sit on his lap for both of them to fit. First slightly awkward at their close proximity, they finally loosened up and did various funny faces before the final couple of shots were done with smiling and nice faces.

Then, suddenly towards the end, Kitsune leaned over to place a kiss on Naruto's cheek, the last flash signaling that the booth had captured the sign of affection.

Kitsune hurriedly got out, squealing in happiness as she saw the three rolls of ten pictures print out, holding them close to her chest before looking at them.

"Here, you get the pictures of me," Kitsune said as she handed him her roll, "while I get the pictures of you. And we split the ones with both of us," she said as she gave him the top half of the pictures, making him slightly disappointed that he didn't get the picture of when she had given him a peck on the check. He was thinking of showing it off to everyone back at the village, namely Kiba.

"Well, I wouldn't have recognized you two if not for your _unique_ chakra signals."

The two teenagers turned with a roll of their eyes to their current sensei Jiraiya who had his hands on his hips as he stared down at the younger two.

"I see my slipper trend is finally catching on."

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 9!**

**-**

**Preview For:  
**

**Episode 10 : Die Another Day**

__

_"Don't underestimate me you malicious slut!"_

_"Vixen._

_"Bitch!"_

_"Immoral Youth."_

_"HOE!"_

_"Bimbo."_

_"HUSSY!!" Kitsune finally yelled in the seemingly young face of Tsunade, hating on how when the blond said the insulting name it was calm and without any emotion._

_At the table, Naruto and Jiraiya cast each other worried looks while Shizune looked like she was hurting TonTon by the way she was hugging him so tightly to her chest._

_"You're such an old hag. I bet you have stretch marks all over," Kitsune snapped as she leaned over the table to try and intimidate the blond who was looking bored as she picked at her long fingernails._

_"At least I'm not as flat as a board," Tsunade said with a smirk as she pointed at her overly large chest that her kimono-like shirt did nothing to cover up._

_"HEY! I'm VERY proud of by B cup, thank you very much!" Kitsune screeched as she ripped off her jacket and shirt to point at her own chest, the only thing now that covered them being a frilly bra._

_"Pa-THETIC!" Tsunade said with a snort as he glanced over to Naruto who had his eyes tightly closed while pinching his nose, making her eyes light up for a second. Ah…young love. She remembered it well._

_Kitsune's eye twitched in annoyance at the older lady's dreamy expression and was about to snap back at her, even more vicious before, before Naruto beat her to it._

_"Ok, I've had _enough_ of you! FIRST you insult Gramps and then you insult Kitsune?! I don't care if you _are_ a woman, I'm STILL going to punch your face in!"_

_Tsunade raised an eyebrow in amusement and stood up, glaring down at Naruto, Kitsune now being totally ignored. But the curly haired youth didn't really mind as she was so wrapped up in how Naruto was standing up for her._

_"Fine, little squirt. You're trying to act all manly like in front of your lady friend to impress her? Well, you'll see how much of a failure THAT will be."_

_Without another word, both blonds walked out of the restaurant, Kitsune just about to bolt after them, but was stopped by Jiraiya._

_"Put your shirt back on," he sighed as he handed over her shirt and jacket, shaking his head lightly at how she never really seemed to think things through._

_Kitsune lightly blushed at her stupidity, finally noticing the many stares at her from the guests in the restaurant._

_"Thanks," she managed to blurt out before she threw the articles of clothes on before continuing on towards the door, Shizune and Jiraiya in tow._

**-**


	10. Die Another Day

_**A/N:** I can't believe it...we're into the double digets now...it's MADNESS!! XDDD I never thought I'd make it this far...so _THANK YOU_ to everyone who has supported this story in whatever way they did, whether it be reading it, alerts, favs, or reviews. This little plot bunny wouldn't have been able to survive without all this support! __Thank you, too, to those who reviewed the last chapter: _DeExil, Mark20020, Dragon Man 180, Dragonlord-ex, Aaron Leach, ApexPredator, Ice Wolf13, Jordy rox ur sox, Paul Evans, marioneo1, IMAGINATOR, _and_ Django99980. _Hope you enjoy the chapter! It's heavy :D (say yay for baggage!)_

**-**

**-**

**Episode 10 : Die Another Day**

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**-**

Kitsune sighed as she continued to stare at Naruto who was trying to contain his chakra in the small balloon in his palm.

"Kitsune, pay attention! I'm teaching you about Kohona's history!"

"Ah! Sorry Jiraiya-sensei!" she apologized, tearing her eyes from Naruto to look up at the sage who was looking the slightest bit irritated at her short attention span.

"Oh well, we're already at this town, so we might as well stop and go get supplies," Jiraiya sighed, knowing Kitsune wouldn't be able to focus any more since her zoning out periods had began to get longer and shorter periods inbetween.

"NO WAY! I wanna train more!" Naruto said before the balloon popped in his face. "And anyway, we just stopped at that festival place two days ago!"

"But we need food," Jiraiya snapped as he knocked his younger student on his blond head who was trying to blow up another balloon.

"Why don't I go?" Kitsune offered as she took off her bag as she stretched, not liking to carry stuff. But she couldn't sell the outfits from the festival as they held precious memories. She had been thankful that Jiraiya had at least sealed all the prizes in a scroll, but he had refused to do the clothes too as he said it was a waste of a scroll.

"Hm…I guess that'd be alright. I'm kinda tired and I need to stay here to watch Naruto in case he does something stupid…" Jiraiya said as he rubbed his chin, this way both the teenagers and him would be appeased.

"I'll be right back then!" she exclaimed a few minutes later as she took off with some money from Jiraiya.

"What a cute little town," Kitsune said in awe as she started walking down the streets in search for the market. Finally arriving at the live scene, her grin faltered a little as she looked at the many people going their ways, never seeing so many people except during the Third's funeral when they'd all been standing still.

With a determined face and tightening her jacket around her thin waist to make sure it didn't fall off, she set off into the mob. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle in uneasiness with so many people around her, constantly shoving her this way and that. Having been in the wild for her entire life (other then the sometimes visits into towns, mostly at night), it felt as if she was getting squished with all the people around her. She could easily take Naruto's presence, and she'd warmed up to Jiraiya, but with the hundreds in the street she felt like she was drowning.

Trying to get her thoughts away from the strangers all around her, she approached her first stall to get some meat. She then went towards the vegetable stand, and bread. Having a little money left, she splurged on some candy that she pocketed.

Feeling as if she'd done her mission perfectly, she squinted up towards the sun to find it at it's zenith, meaning it was around twelve. Yelping, as she'd taken so much time to do a simple food run, she turned around in a hurry to start heading back, and so missed the fact that there were some people closely approaching her side that she abruptly turned on. So, in the most ungraceful fashion, she bumped into that person and watched with wide eyes as her food went this way and that.

"Ah…" Kitsune groaned as she got up from the dusty road, dusting off her loose orange pants.

"Are you alright?" Kitsune blinked as the black haired lady who had asked the question brought her face close to hers, causing Kitsune to weakly smile. Again, stranger too close.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kitsune laughed as she tried to pick up her purchases, finding in misery that they were quickly being stomped on by the fast moving people in the streets.

"Well, it seems that the kids these days have no manners."

Kitsune looked across just as she was about to pick up a carrot, following the voice, to 'eep' as she saw a pretty blond on the ground who she'd obvious collided with.

"I-I'm sorry," Kitsune apologized as she offered a hand frantically, which the blond slapped away.

"I don't need help from someone whose obviously a _PET_."

At the odd declaration, Kitsune's eyes finally widened as she touched her collar, something that she'd thought a bother at first but then found it oddly comforting. Furrowing her brow, a growl escaped from her throat involuntarily.

"This is a VERY important thing to me," Kitsune continued to growl as she poked the older female, holding down a gawk as she finally saw how big the woman's breasts were.

"Look kid, I don't want a useless fight," she snorted as she pushed away Kitsune's hand before brushing her bangs out of her beautiful face.

Kitsune blushed in anger, wondering why _THIS_ woman was so beautiful in every way when her personality seemed rotten.

"Lets go Shizune."

And with that, the two older woman were gone, leaving a steaming Kitsune in the middle of the road. Suddenly remembering the dropped food, she noticed that she had only been able to salvage her loaf of bread. Everything else had been pounded into the dirt road and had been utterly ruined.

With a feral screech that scared nearby people in the street, Kitsune stomped all the way to the forest to where her other two traveling companions were. Naruto glanced up from his balloon, Jiraiya napping in the shade of a tree.

"You're back…" Naruto drifted off as he saw felt her crossed mood and saw her grimace.

"I'll be back soon," Kitsune snorted out as she threw the slightly dented bread at the bubbly blond before she was gone with a big bound. She didn't want to let down her traveling companions by not providing food when it was her duty, so she had decided to go hunting.

At the sound of the wind through her ears, she relaxed and allowed her long legs to easily bound her from one branch to the other. Using her acute sense of smell, she easily found some fruit trees. Using her jacket she tied bottom closed and then the sleeves together as a strap and then used the opening for the neck to drop the precious food into. She collected the fruit before going down on the ground to look for some berries and roots, luckily finding a wild squash vine. Next, she placed her jacket full of goodies down in a hollow tree for safekeeping, until she started to creep off in search for some meat.

A few hours later, she returned to her full jacket with a rabbit and bird in each hand before heading back to Naruto and Jiraiya, her sour mood gone for the most part.

"I see that Princess Foxy can hunt," Jiraiya noted as she plopped down next to him with the gathered food.

"Of course, how do you think I survived to this day?" she stated as she started picking out the feathers in a flurry and cleaned the bird, making Naruto wince nearby, cursing himself for being distracted in training.

Jiraiya stayed silent, knowing what she was implying as he remembered their talk that happened not so long ago.

"How did you kill them?" he asked as he laid back down, noting that she hadn't brought her weapons with her, the pouch laying next to her bag nearby.

"With my claws," she stated as she started skinning the hare with a kunai, now making Naruto visibly pale and drop his balloon.

"Claws?" Jiraiya asked as he looked over, noting that she had regular fingernails.

"Yeah. See?" she asked as she concentrated, her eyes shut tightly and tongue sticking out, before her fingernails were now long and sharp, making Jiraiya blink in surprise and Naruto gasp in amazement.

"It's nothing much," she said in modesty as she retracted them before turning back towards her carcasses. "I learned to do this when I was five and had to start hunting."

There was silence as Kitsune finished cleaning and cutting up the meat, Naruto wondering the entire time how she could stomach what she was doing.

"Um…I don't really know how to cook," she admitted sheepishly as she finished, Naruto deciding to take a break and so sat down next to the other two.

"Didn't you cook your food in the wild?" Jiraiya asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kitsune chose not to answer as she laid down to look up at the blue sky, hoping her blush of embarrassment wasn't too deep.

"Ew! _Gross_!" Naruto blanched, making Kitsune painfully punch him in the shoulder before saying, "And to think I was going to give you candy!"

**-**

"Now kiddies, we're going to look for Tsunade," Jiraiya said as he lead to two teenagers into the village Kitsune had gone into today's late morning.

"But I want to _train_ more," Naruto whined as he clenched the balloon, yet not too tightly as to pop it on accident. He KNEW he was so close...he held down a growl as he thought about how he could have already mastered it if Kitsune hadn't been constantly bugging him the entire trip so far.

"You can do that while we walk. You have been doing that on the road, _haven't you_?" Jiraiya sighed in exasperation.

"Yeah, it's just hard to concentrate with so many people around," Naruto snorted, his left shoulder being nicked by a person on the street as if on cue. Kitsune sighed as she inwardly agreed. It was hard to do anything with so many people around. All the smells and loud noises made her dizzy, but dealing with the large amounts of strangers she felt a little more comfortable with Naruto at her side and since the market was over there weren't so many out.

"Whatever. Learn to focus for once," was all that Jiraiya offered.

This continued for the rest of the day, Kitsune and Naruto getting tired as they tagged along.

"Last one guys," Jiraiya stated wearily as he went into a nearby shop, Kitsune and Naruto having to sit wait on an outside table because they were noticeably not 21 and the owners of this establishment actually cared (unlike others before).

"I wonder why Jiraiya has to search for this lady…and rather then that, why hasn't he shown us what she looks like? I feel like he's keeping something from us," Kitsune wondered out loud as she crossed her arms in front of her, hoping her stomach wouldn't growl loud as she was hungry once again.

"Maybe it's his wife that ran away. And...she's so ugly that he doesn't want to be made fun of?" Naruto joked with a foxy grin that made Kitsune grin too.

"Good God, Naru-chan," Kitsune laughed at his amusing imagination as rolled her eyes, and turned to rest her head on her chin and lazily watch people pass by. It was more the other way around as all the passing people were throwing her wary glances. A few of the guys raised their eyebrows and winked at her but it was all in vain. Kitsune threw the same bored expression back at all of them.

"Say, are you still wearing those hair _thingies_ from the festival?" Naruto asked as he turned to her, the glittering in her mass of curls having caught his eye and so making him lose focus, his last balloon bursted.

"Yeah, these _hair ornaments_ actually keep my hair out of the way while looking stylish...or that's what Yukio said. But I'm only wearing three of them, I have the others in my bag." Kitsune finished, blinking in surprise at him noticing such a fine detail in her appearance, before slipping them out and holding them out for him to inspect.

Naruto looked at them for a second, admiring how they were crafted, before looking back up to hand them back yet instead laughed.

"What?" Kitsune asked as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"You look like a lion or somethin," Naruto laughed as he pointed at her hair that had settled on the front of her shoulders that did look like a mane.

Kitsune only weakly growled, adding to the image of an animal to Naruto's amusement, before swiping her newest treasures from Naruto to tame her 'mane' again.

"Aw…" Naruto said in defeat as Kitsune stuck her tongue out.

"Alright guys, lets take a break."

Jiraiya's voice caused them to look up from one another as he came out from the door, an exasperated expression on his face that made him actually look his age.

"You mean food, right?" Kitsune said in hope as her stomach let out a loud growl in approval.

"Yes, food," Jiraiya sighed as he dug in his pockets for some money, thinking along the lines of how kids made money magically disappear.

"Lets check out here," the sage finally said as he opened the door and allowed the two excited youths to bound in before him.

But Kitsune's happiness was short lived as she saw the blond lady from before, causing her to point in shock and horror.

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked in shock, causing the blond to turn around.

"Jiraiya?" She asked before seeing Kitsune, who was trying in vain to hide behind Jiraiya and Naruto.

"I should have known that you'd be the one to treat a girl like a pet," Tsunade snorted, Kitsune's eyes narrowing as a violent aura started to come off of her, causing Naruto to warily take a step away with raised eyebrows.

"What?" the white haired man asked with a breath of laughter as he moved aside so that Kitsune could be fully seen. She held down a whimper as her shield was now completely gone.

"That girl that I ran into today. She's wearing a _COLLAR_ for crying out loud," Tsunade said bitterly as she pointed at Kitsune who was weakly growling.

"I didn't put that there..." Jiraiya said as he slipped into the booth, making Shizune gulp as he glanced her way. "Naruto did," Jiraiya finished with laughter as Naruto blushed in embarrassment.

"It was an accident," he fumbled to explain as he adjusted his headband, not wanting to look at the blond beaut.

"Whatever," Tsunade said with a flip of her blond head, eyes turning to her former teammate. Naruto and Kitsune soon followed, deciding to go on the side where Jiraiya was sitting.

"It must be some kind of reunion…I've been seeing too many familiar faces," Tsunade said as she waved the waiter for another bottle of sake which he warily nodded to. It would be her fourth.

"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked. At the name, Kitsune's eyes dialated, stopping in mid bite as she felt the blood drain from her face.

"What did he want?" Jiraiya continued to ask, not noting Kitsune's change of aura. But Naruto did and cast her a wary glance as he continued to eat with vigor.

"Nothing really. Just saying _hi,_" Tsunade said as she intertwined her fingers in front of her.

"Well, I'll get to the point," Jiraiya said seriously, choosing to not react to how Tsunade had given a pointed glance at Shizune before speaking, "The village needs you to become the Fifth Hokage."

At the declaration, Naruto started choking on his food in shock, causing Kitsune to snap out of her stupor to clap him on the back to dislodge the food.

"Orochimaru killed the Third, didn't he?" Tsunade asked with a hint of sadness, already knowing the answer.

"_Orochimaru_?! Whose he?!" Naruto growled out, deeming he had a new archenemy even though he didn't know him.

"Naruto…calm down," Kitsune whispered, feeling her voice fail her at the information she had already knew in the back of her mind yet had refused to believe until now.

"He was the third one of our prodigal group back in the day," Jiraiya explained briefly for the spunky blond.

"Jiraiya, who is this brat?" Tsunade said calmly, eyeing the blond.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Jiraiya said as he glanced down at the fidgeting youth.

"And the girl…?" Tsunade asked as she turned her eyes to Kitsune who was looking down at her shaking hands.

"Kitsune," Jiraiya said easily, eyes going to his sake cup and so didn't see how her face had recently paled.

"And why _HER_ for Hokage?!" Naruto growled as he straightened, pointing a finger across the table at Tsunade.

"Just hush up Naruto," Jiraiya snapped with a silencing blow to the head.

"So? Do you accept?" Jiraiya asked, making Tsunade move her eyes from Kitsune to Naruto to Jiraiya, wearing a thoughtful face.

There was silence for a few minutes before Tsunade finally answered.

"No way. Why should I?"

Silence continued for a few seconds as everyone could only stare at Tsunade in shock until...

"Why NOT?!" Kitsune finally exploded as she banged her hands on the table, causing all eyes to focus on her.

"Gambling you life for the sake of the village… not really my game. Only a loser would take it," Tsunade said as she glared right back at the teenager.

"That's an _HONOR_! To protect someone with all your might so that they can live another day... to see someone bloom before your eyes partly because of YOUR help..." Kitsune growled back.

Naruto looked up at the enraged Kitsune, blinking in surprise. But when he looked down at her shaking hands, he wondered if it was out of anger or fear.

"You have _no idea_ what you're talking about _little girl,_" Tsunade said right back, feeling a pang in her heart at hurtful memories that Orochimaru had caused to resurface. Jiraiya sighed as he held his head in his hands, knowing what was coming. It was inevitable when you put two females with different opinions and strong wills together.

"Don't underestimate me you malicious slut!"

"Vixen.

"Bitch!"

"Immoral Youth."

"HOE!"

"Bimbo."

"HUSSY!!" Kitsune finally yelled in the seemingly young face of Tsunade, hating on how when the blond said the insulting name it was calm and without any emotion.

At the table, Naruto and Jiraiya cast each other worried looks while Shizune looked like she was hurting TonTon by the way she was hugging him so tightly to her chest.

"You're such an old hag. I bet you have stretch marks all over," Kitsune snapped as she leaned over the table to try and intimidate the blond who was looking bored as she picked at her long fingernails.

"At least I'm not as flat as a board," Tsunade said with a smirk as she pointed at her overly large chest that her kimono-like shirt did nothing to cover up.

"HEY! I'm VERY proud of by B cup, thank you very much!" Kitsune screeched as she ripped off her jacket and shirt to point at her own chest, the only thing now that covered them being a frilly bra.

"Pa-_thetic_!" Tsunade said with a snort as he glanced over to Naruto who had his eyes tightly closed while pinching his nose, making her eyes light up for a second. Ah…young love. She remembered it well.

Kitsune's eye twitched in annoyance at the older lady's dreamy expression and was about to snap back at her, even more vicious before, before Naruto beat her to it.

"Ok, I've had _enough_ of you! FIRST you insult Gramps and then you insult Kitsune?! I don't care if you _are_ a woman, I'm STILL going to punch your face in!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in amusement and stood up, glaring down at Naruto, Kitsune now being totally ignored. But the curly haired youth didn't really mind as she was so wrapped up in how Naruto was standing up for her.

"Fine, little squirt. You're trying to act all manly like in front of your lady friend to impress her? Well, you'll see how much of a failure THAT will be."

Without another word, both blonds walked out of the restaurant, Kitsune just about to bolt after them, but was stopped by Jiraiya.

"Put your shirt back on," he sighed as he handed over her shirt and jacket, shaking his head lightly at how she never really seemed to think things through.

Kitsune lightly blushed at her stupidity, finally noticing the many stares at her from the guests in the restaurant.

"Thanks," she managed to blurt out before she threw the articles of clothes on before continuing on towards the door, Shizune and Jiraiya in tow.

"First off, I'll give it to you that you have guts," Kitsune heard Tsunade say to Naruto as they stood opposite of each other in the street.

"But it'll only take one finger to defeat you," she further said as she raised her index finger.

Naruto didn't respond, except for his heated glare, before he grabbed for a kunai and started charging at her. Kitsune winced as she saw Tsunade easily take the kunai as he approached and then snapped off his head band off before flicking him in the forehead and causing him to skid away.

"Hey kid, I've got a question for you," Tsunade said as she looked at his fallen body that started to get up, determination still strong in his eyes. "Why are you so sensitive about this Hokage business?"

"Because..." Naruto started as he wiped off some dirt from is face, "To be Hokage is my dream that's going to happen one day," he growled, his eyes now fully on fire.

Tsunade blinked before looking downward, Naruto closing his eyes in concentration as he prepared his new jutsu.

"Come on..." Kitsune whispered to herself as her hands formed firsts as she watched Naruto charge with his Rasengan in hand. But Tsunade, despite being initially shocked, got a hold of herself just in time to bring down her finger to create a crack in the ground which Naruto, ungracefully, fell into, his Rasengan beng used on the hard ground infront of him instead of on the older blond not three feet in front.

"Jiraiya, was it you who taught him this jutsu? You _know_ it's useless, only you and the Forth could do it," she snorted as she looked over at her former teammate, raising an eyebrow as Kitsune growled and bared her fangs at the older woman.

"I WILL be able to do it," Naruto said as he got up, Shizune backing off as it looked like he didn't need her help. "I'll show you," he continued with a smirk.

"Fine. Lets make a wager. If you _DO_ master it in a week...you'll get my necklace," she said as she jingled the jewelry, "And if you _DON'T_, I get your 'froggy' full of money AND your little girlie's hair ornaments."

Naruto growled, wondering when she'd grabbed his money pouch, before nodding and agreeing to the challenge. Kitsune's face fell. He didn't even ask if it was alright with HER when it was HER stuff on the line too!

"It's a deal," Tsunade said as she threw the fat frog full of money back to Naruto. "I'll enjoy selling those fancy pins," she said with a breath of laughter directed at Kitsune, making her blush in anger yet again.

"Shizune, would you mind finding lodging for Naruto and Kitsune while me and Tsunade go have a drink?" Jiraiya asked, slapping a hand over Kitsune's mouth just as she was about to call out Tsunade herself.

"Of course," Shizune said, sighing in relief. If there was anyone who could talk some sense into Tsunade it was Jiraiya. And with Orochimaru's deal...

"This isn't over," Naruto and Kitsune both said with gusto as they pointed at the slug medic before turning their grimacing faces away to walk towards Shizune.

"I didn't know that you enjoyed babysitting Jiraiya," Tsunade said as she looked across to the spiky silver haired man who only shrugged, his eyes following the two youths, Kitsune hitting Naruto on the head and expressing her displeasure in how he hadn't asked for her ok in the deal.

"You should try it yourself, Princess."

**-**

"Foxy? It's time to get up."

Kitsune blinked her eyes open for a second before screeching loud enough to put banshees to shame and hugging her knees to her chest, throwing the blanket over her as to try and shake away the person who had woken her up.

"Kitsune..." Jiraiya, using her actual name for once, grit through his teeth, not liking how his ears were ringing from her sudden underworld scream. Wasn't having a hangover (caused by his and Tsunade's new drinking record last night) enough to deal with?

"_Go away_," Kitsune growled and peaked out from under her warm blanket to give a look at the toad sage that clearly said she wanted to throw something, preferably sharp, at him for being woken up at this ungodly time of the morning (to her). Her goldish-orange hair was once again frizzing around her head to make a large ball of fluff.

"I'm just wondering where Naruto went," Jiraiya said as he walked away from her bed to stare out of the window to the already busy streets.

"Huh?" Kitsune asked as she bolted up, hissing as the sunlight penetrated her brown eyes.

"When I came in last night he was sleeping but when I woke he was gone," Jiraiya said as he turned back towards her, leaning on the window sill.

"You think he went training?" Kitsune asked as she tried to control her monster hair.

"Probably," Jiraiya sighed as he went over to the door and opened it. "I'll be doing some research today, so don't expect to see much of me today either," he said before he was gone through the door, leaving a still slightly drowsy Kitsune alone in the room.

She huffed before getting up and going through her morning stretches. She looked down to find that she was wearing her black undershirt and spandex, her orange pants and jacket carelessly thrown on the floor. With a groan, she jumped into her pants with one fluid motion, walking out of the room while trying to do the button and zipper, making a few people in the hallway raise an eyebrow.

When she got out of the building, she tied her jacket around her waist, it being another hot day.

"Naruto's training so he probably doesn't want me to disturb him," Kitsune said as she absently started walking in the streets, using her quick reflexes to avoid being touched by people as she could actually squeeze by since it wasn't busy yet.

"Maybe I'll train too...I've been getting way too lazy," Kitsune said as she snaked her hand under her shirt to pick her bellybutton.

But before Kitsune could figure out an concrete ideas as what to do, she noticed a familiar blond sitting on a bar stool not twenty feet away. So, eyes squinting in preparation and tongue out in concentration, Kitsune started to stalk up to the person, intending to scare them.

"I could sense you before you saw me."

The sharp, demanding voice caused Kitsune to drop her arms along with her attempt, switching to loudly stomp her feet to sit on the other side.

"What're you doing here?" Tsunade sighed as she glanced over at the teen.

"Nothin..." Kitsune droned off as she glanced at the empty sake bottles. Hadn't she gone drinking with Jiraiya just last night?

"Well, if it's '_nothin'_, why don't you leave me alone?"

"Why are you so bitter?" Kitsune spat out her question just as Tsunade ended hers, causing the blond to widen her eyes.

"Why, I never-"

"Did someone take away something precious to you?" Kitsune guessed, thinking that was really the only reason that could made someone be in the depths of misery as was the slug medic.

"Pfft. Like I said before, you know nothing," Tsunade said as she turned to leave.

"Tell me. I want to know how to protect someone...I want to know how to protect Naruto," she admitted, succeeding in holding down a blush.

"You're asking the wrong person kid," Tsunade said as she let a flicker of her melancholy emotions go through her hazel eyes.

"Why do you have such pretty eyes?" Kitsune snorted as she crossed her arms, the odd statement causing Tsunade to stop in her retreat.

"You have brown like me but yours are so much prettier then mine, like Iruka. This world is unfair," Kitsune continued on with her own bitter taste in her mouth.

"Just as I thought. All you care about is looks," Tsunade said as she whirled on Kitsune once again, causing the teenager to be caught off guard at the sudden intensity of her glare, almost causing her to fall off the stool.

"Wait, that-"

"I don't see why Jiraiya is hauling around two _worthless_ kids. He'd always been too kind to fellow idiots," Tsunade interrupted Kitsune before she could explain. The sage then grabbed her cloak and was gone into the crowd before Kitsune could put in another word.

"Damn hag. I'll show you..." Kitsune growled before standing up herself and leaving in the opposite direction towards the forest.

**-**

_Six days later..._

"Damn...damn...DAMN," Jiraiya swore as he stumbled along the rooftops, noting that he hadn't cursed Tsunade's name in quite a while. He'd just woken up after he'd gone drinking with her again, trying one last time to decipher what Orochimaru had talked to her about. But it was all in vain as she'd skillfully doped him.

Finally, he arrived just as Shizune was about to leap out with Naruto.

"Hold on..." Jiraiya panted, Shizune noting with worry that his body was shaking and that his face looked pale.

"Shizune, care to explain what's happening?" Jiraiya asked, ignoring how Naruto was making fun of him at his current condition.

"I'll explain on the way," Shizune said before they were off with Tonton leading the way. Naruto bit his lip in aggitation as they flew threw the forest to where the meeting place supposedly was, wondering where in the world Kitsune was right now as they needed her more then ever.

**-**

"Ah..." Kitsune sighed in relaxation as she got out of the river she'd just bathed in. It was a little cold for her liking, but it was nothing like a dip that would wake your senses. Truthfully, she had been extremely happy throughout this week. Quickly after she'd had her chance meeting with Tsunade, she'd gone off into the woods where she'd been for the past week. It reminded her of her past life...when everything else was simpler.

Finished dressing, she sighed again as she zipped up her jacket, not liking how the hairs on the back of her neck hadn't stopped tingling all morning. She gasped as she suddenly realized this was the same feeling she had before Gaara had-

But her thinking was interrupted as she suddenly felt a small quake through the ground. Dropping down on all fours, she pressed her ear to the ground, eyes snapping open as she felt yet another vibration.

"That's not natural...a fight's happening," Kitsune stated as she rested her forehead on the ground, thinking of what she should do. But when she felt a third tremor, she bounded up and started sprinting with all she had to where she felt the shakes come from.

It didn't take her long before she appeared on the outskirts of a flat feild that had various rocks poking out. But the landscape was the last thing that her eyes were focused on as she saw three bodies in the feild.

As she smelt Tsunade's gentle scent waft through her twitching nose, she noticed the blond was one of the three bodies. Not thinking things through, with three large bounds, she was next to the older female, landing a swift kick to the opposing person in front of her.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

Kitsune immediatly froze as the voice penetrated her ears.

"Did a little fox get caught up in out fight?"

"Shut it Orochimaru," Tsunade snapped, starting to feel her musceles that Kabuto had touched on with his glowing blue hands. Thankfully Kitsune had intercepted the other medic before he could have attacked her neck like he'd aimed for.

"Kitsune, what are you doing here?" Tsunade said as she stood, finding that they were of the same height, if her not a little taller.

"Protecting you," Kitsune struggled out, her eyes still focused on Orochimaru's morbid gold ones.

But their eye lock was abruptly cut off as Kitsune felt a punch to her face, causing her to skid a good twenty feet before colliding with a rock.

"Ah..." Kitsune groaned as she rose to find Kabuto's smirking face, his glasses shining in the sun.

"Rematch," he stated as he then kicked her in the stomach. Kitsune coughed up blood, struggling to stand as she glanced over at Orochimaru who was smirking her way.

"Move it," Tsunade snapped as she chopped Kabuto in the neck and successfully throwing him back towards Orochimaru.

"Kitsune, are you alright?" the slug queen continued to ask as she helped the teenger stand.

"Do you need me to heal you?"

"It's alright...I just need a few minutes," Kitsune panted, starting to feel her two broken ribs heal, almost sighing in relief as they weren't penetrating her lungs anymore.

"Yes. I wonder, do you know who this little treasure in the forest _really_ _is _Tsunade?" Orochimaru slithered out as he eyes Kabuto with a hint of disgust. He had been easily taken advantage of because he'd been so wrapped up in trying to inflict pain on Kitsune in revenge.

"Don't," Kitsune growled as she stood on her own, lightly pushing Tsunade away in an indication that she was alright.

"Why did you run away from me? I was SO happy to see you in the Chunin Exams in the Forest of Death, yet you ran away just as you did from my lair. When was that? Three years ago I believe," Orochimaru sneered with a startling grin.

"SHUT UP!" Kitsune growled, yet didn't dare to attack.

"Does she know? Does Jiraiya, no, _Naruto_ know?" the snake sanin continued as he licked his lips, glancing at a confused and angry Tsunade before focusing back on Kitsune.

"How you were my _test subject_ for two months?"

As Kitsune weakly growled back, she didn't noticed how Kabuto had started to advance on them again, Tsunade shocked that he'd figured out how to move his body already even though she'd tapped his spinal cord.

But before he could land a hit on either of the two females, three bodies and a pig blocked his way.

"Orochimaru..." Jiraiya said as he looked at his ex-teammate.

"Jiraiya," the snake replied right back, his eyes focusing from Kitsune to the toad sage.

"Heh...what a surprise to see YOU here Naruto," Kabuto said as he looked up at the youthful blond.

"Wha...?" Naruto asked in shock as he starred at the person who had helped him get through the Chunin Exams. Kitsune would have said 'told you so' if she hadn't been so focused on keeping her legs from supporting the rest of her body.

"Are you sure you're alright Kitsune?" Tsunade asked as she looked at the youth, her hair now straight as it fanned in front of her face to act as a curtain, hiding her glazed over eyes.

Not waiting for Kitsune any longer, Tsunade sprinted forward, shoving Jiraiya over as she made a run for Kabuto.

"Kitsune, are you alright?" Naruto asked, just what Tsunade had not twenty second ago, as he went to her side, ignoring Kabuto for the time being.

"N...Naruto..." Kitsune said with large eyes as she looked down at him, wondering if he'd heard what Orochimaru had said.

"Don't worry Kitsune, I'll protect you," Naruto said as he saw Kabuto push away Tsunade with the hand he hadn't cut. Naruto stood in front of Kitsune, watching with twitching hands and eyes as Tsunade crumpled to the ground at the sight of blood.

With a sudden earthquake, Naruto watched with wide eyes as a two headed snake was summoned by Orochimaru with the help of Kabuto. WHY did it always have to be snakes? But he didn't have much time to think as he saw Kabuto jump off in front of them as Jiraiya summoned a swamp, the toad sage swearing as it wasn't big enough to sink the snake but at least enough to stop it's movements.

"Naruto...I'll kill you if you get in my way," Kabuto said, knowing he'd used one of his clones to receive Tsunade and place her behind him and Kitsune. Shizune groaned nearby, not being able to move because he'd severed her ankle muscles just a minute ago as Naruto had taken back Tsunade.

"And _why_ would I let you do that?" Naruto snarled as he took a stand against Kabuto. He wondered why he ever thought the grey-haired teenager had been his ally. It just showed him that he needed to be more wary of those he trusted.

Kitsune looked up from her shaking hands to Naruto who had just got punched down by Kabuto. She didn't know what was happening around her...She didn't notice the two giant snakes that Kabuto and Orochimaru had summoned, nor how Shizune and Tsunade were no longer able to fight. All she knew...was that Naruto needed her. Her heart was thumping so loud that it felt like thunder in her ears. It was happening for a second time...she was being a burden...she couldn't do anything right..._again_.

A sudden swelling in the pit of her stomach started as she grabbed the ring in her collar. No...this time would be different. THIS time she would help Naruto...she wouldn't run away like in the Forest of Death or fail like she did against Gaara...it was her moment to show him what she was REALLY made of. With her hands positioned in what Jiraiya had told her, she started to focus her chakra. This was what she'd been training almost a week for, _this_ was where she was going to show and prove that she wasn't just dead weight.

Naruto turned from his fight with Kabuto to look at Kitsune with wide eyes. Contrary to her usual appearance, her eyes were now sharpened and her pupils were only slits. Her reddish gold hair fanned around her as she cracked her knuckles, a pair of black fox ears sitting atop her head as a matching black fox tail tipped with silver swished behind her.

_'Don't...touch...'_ she said in fox, no one understanding.

But it didn't matter as in the next second she was infront of Naruto and had Kabuto by the neck, holding him up as his feet dangled in an attempt to connect with land again as he gasped for breath.

"Delete," she said in a feral voice, this time Naruto being able understand, before she tightened her grip around his neck, allowing her long nails to sink in for a second before forcefully throwing him against a nearby bolder, his body going through it before colliding and stopping halfway through another one.

Before Naruto could reach out to grab her, she had dropped to all fours and had started sprinted towards the two snakes, her fox tail trailing behind her. Naruto tried to keep up, but found that when he looked down at her feet and hands, they were a blur of black as they were too transformed into fox feet.

With a feral yell that seemed to shake the air itself, she jumped up to attack the two snakes. In no less then a minute as she jumped around one of the snakes, its heads falling off into the marsh.

"Kill..." Kitsune growled as she flexed her harder then steel claws that were dripping with the snake's blood, advancing on Orochimaru who stood close by. Jiraiya had, unfortunately, fallen into the swamp he had created since the snake had collapsed from one its heads being severed.

"Shouldn't you be worried about Naruto?" the former Leaf ninja asked as he pointed, Kitsune's slitted eyes following to see Naruto being caught under the body of the snakes while trying to pursue her. Glancing from her enemy to her friend, she finally choose to dart towards Naruto in panic, and so not noticing as Orochimaru's head extended with lightning speed and bit into her neck just above her collar.

Jiraiya, getting back on the fight scene after escaping the marsh, yelled in protest as he approached Orochimaru's body and kicked it away, causing his head to follow, bring a chunk of Kitsune's neck with him.

"What is WRONG with you?!" Jiraiya snarled as he went to Kitsune, finding that she was losing lots of blood and her eyes were already looking to be dilated, her body slowly transforming back to normal

"It seems that you still don't know the secret to that girl," Orochimaru said as he wiped away her sweat blood from his cursed mouth.

"There _IS_ no secret! She just wants to protect those who are close to her!" Jiraiya snarled as he saw Naruto approach with an obvious limp.

"Kitsune..." he chocked out as he saw her maimed neck, the red liquid coming down.

"Take her to Shizune. She'll heal her," Jiraiya instucted as he turned back to Orochimaru.

"I'm not going to let you get in my way, especially after finding her again," Orochimaru slithered out as his blood stained tongue lolled out.

"I'm not about to let you take those two kid's lives away OR Tsunade's for that matter!" Jiraiya said right back.

"Shizune, help her!" Naruto struggled to say through pants as he approached the two older females.

"My god..." Shizune said as she looked at Kitsune's neck, the red already staining half her jacket.

"Naruto...I can't do anything with something this drastic...Orochimaru's evil chakra is stopping it from healing," Shizune regretfully informed, knowing Tsunade to be the only one who could heal her now.

"Damn...FUCK!" Naruto yelled as he stood in anger, just to be punched away by Kabuto.

"How..." Naruto asked as he looked up, wiping away some blood that dribbled from his mouth.

"It's finally time to die _bitch,_" Kabuto said as he grabbed Kitsune from the neck to hoist her in the air as she'd done to him not long ago.

Kitsune's blank hazel eyes blinked before a small smile graced her bloodied features, struggling to turn her head in Naruto's direction.

"Naruto...I'm...sorry..." she gargled out as blood started to drip from her mouth.

"Don't touch her..." Naruto growled out as he firmly stood on two legs, ignoring the blinding pain from his broken one.

"And what're yo-" but Kabuto was unable to finish as he was punched right back in the face, causing him to skid a good ten feet.

"I'm the one whose sorry Kitsune..." Naruto choked out as he felt tears start to well up in his eyes. One of his best friends was dieing in front of his eyes...and there was nothing he could do...

"But I'm going to protect you not matter what," he whispered as he held her close, knowing he only had a few more precious seconds before he would have to attack Kabuto again.

"You will not further hurt what's precious to me!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs as he placed Kitsune back down on the green grass that considerably contradicted the red of her still flowing blood.

Tsunade twitched and looked up, as if the statement had woken up her dead heart.

"I will do whatever it takes!" Naruto continued to exclaim as he created a clone and started his Rasengan in a new way.

Tsunade's eyes fell from his determined, tear stained face and then over at Shizune who was trying all that she could to heal Kitsune. The slug sanin closed her eyes. Not again...

Naruto yelled as his Rasengan connected with Kabuto's stomach, causing both of them to propel different ways.

"I..." Naruto started before he felt the edges of his vision beginning to blur in black.

"Kit-chan..." he started as he crawled over to his friend, Shizune herself crying as she tried to stop the bleeding, but finding it was near impossible with almost all of her chakra gone and the bite too deep. To pass away so young, Shizune could barely take it.

"Don't...die..." he whispered as he went into the darkness, his heart going into overdrive at the last jab Kabuto had gotten in before he'd been hit with the Rasengan.

"No...NO!" Tsunade yelled as she stood, throwing her cloak on the ground as she went to the two teenagers.

"Not today...you both will die another day..." she stated as each hand started glowing with heaven's light, placing one hand on Kitsune's neck and the other on Naruto's chest.

Orochimaru turned from his fight with Jiraiya and snarled as he looked at Tsunade. Angrily, he lashed out his tongue as it looped around Jiraiya's ankle, smashing him into the hard ground a second later.

Summoning his sword from his mouth, he sprinted towards Tsunade. Tsunade felt him approach didn't remove her hands from the two youths, knowing she needed a few more seconds before they'd be healed enough for them to survive.

Tsunade gasped as she felt the cold metal slice all the way through her chest.

"You...will _NOT_ touch them," she growled as her hands held steady. A little more...

"Nonsense! Two brats is nothing to throw you life away to!" Orochimaru said as his lips curled around his sword into a sneer.

"They are the _future_!" Tsunade said as she bit back a hiss as the metal cut through her flesh yet again, causing her to be thrown a few feet away.

"Now, that leaves the brats. I would have liked to do more research with the girl, but...oh well," Orochimaru said as he lunged with his sword, intending to cut both their heads off in one fluid movement. Steel did meet flesh, but it was Tsunade's as she once again sheilded the youths with her body.

"Why don't you DIE?!" Orochimaru yelled before he was punched a good thirty feet away. He got up with a hiss, noticing with destain that Tsunade has stopped her shaking.

"Because..." Tsunade started as she took off her necklace to place on Naruto, "I'm Kohona's Fifth Hokage!" she announced as she stood, her diamond forehead unraveling as her wounds healed and a smirk appeared on her face.

"It's time for payback..."

Both Naruto and Kitsune stayed unconcious throughout the rest of the fight, their chests moving up and down lightly as Shizune, with the help of one of Katsuya's small facets, waited for the prodigious fight between the former team commence. Eventually, Orochimaru was forced to retreat with Kabuto who was barely standing himself with Kitsune's attack and then Naruto's who had really dealt a mortal blow, yet it would sadly not be enough to kill him.

"Who knew that those two had so much spunk?" Jiraiya asked as he limped up to Shizune and the sleeping duo, placing a hand on his chest to feel his broken ribs.

"They will be great one day..." Tsunade agreed as she leaned down to ruffle Naruto's dirty hair.

**-**

"WH_AAA-A_T?!" Naruto exclaimed the next day as their group of six (including Tonton) sat in a booth very similar to the one they'd first meet up in.

"That's right, I'm the Fifth Hokage, _brat_." Tsunade said as she knocked on the table, a smirk at how Naruto was getting so riled up.

"I mean...for someone who fakes their age and throws money around so carelessly...I don't think she can live up to the Old Man. She's not a good enough person," Naruto openly said his opinion.

"Outside! NOW BRAT!" Tsunade yelled as a vein throbed in her beautiful face, her painted lips set in a grim line.

"You're on!" Naruto yelled as he got up and sped out of the restaurant, Tsunade getting up to follow.

"And Kitsune?" she asked, Kitsune lifting her head, long bangs doing nothing to hide her insecurities of the moment.

"Lets keep that little _thing_ between us," Tsunade said with a smile as she put a finger to her plump lips, giving a wink before continuing towards the exit where Naruto no doubt was already waiting in the road. Kitsune smiled as she understood. She wouldn't tell her history of Orochimaru until SHE was ready to.

"What was that about?" Jiraiya asked as he pushed Kitsune out of the booth so he could go outside to watch.

"Nothin," Kitsune laughed as she ran outside with a smile, making Jiraiya sigh in relief. She'd been acting too down this morning.

Just like the first time, Naruto was easily defeated with a snap of Tsunade's finger. But instead of a flick to his forehead...

"HEY! NO KISSING!" Kitsune yelled as she held Naruto to her chest, sticking her tongue out at Tsunade.

"Oh, SORRY possessive girlfriend," Tsunade said as she flicked her blond bangs out of her brilliant face that was young once again.

Kitsune could only sputter like she had rabies as Naruto blushed; Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune only laughing as Tonton snorted in amusement.

**-**

**-**

**END OF EPISODE 10!**

**-**

**Preview For:**

**Episode 11 : Fight for All the Wrong Reasons**

_He either didn't hear her, or ignored her._

_His ravishing cerulean eyes were narrowed in an expression of intense hatred toward one of his first friends he'd ever made and his body was covered in dust from the dirty hospital roof. He was doubled over, one arm clutching the left side of his ribcage that the black haired boy standing across of him had obviously just punched. Sasuke, on the other hand, stood straight, smirking, his arms folded with not a single scratch on him, or as far as Kitsune could see. His black eyes were cold and uncaring as he continued to glare down at the person who was on the same team._

_Naruto let out a roar of fury before brashly charging at Sasuke, taking a desperate swing at his head. Sasuke dodged easily, caught Naruto's arm, and twisted it behind Naruto's back, easily pinning him. Kitsune could now see how Naruto had constantly struggled against the Uchiha for as long as they'd know each other, but she would have had to have seen it to believe it. Naruto was not easily beaten, out of pure stubbornness alone, as she had easily seen through her time with him so far._

_The blond tried to twist out of Sasuke's grip, and Kitsune were close enough as she stood next to Sakura to see that Sasuke's veins stood out in his hand because he was gripping Naruto so hard, pouring chakra into his own hands to keep the younger of the two steady. Naruto struggled harder and Kitsune could lightly see orange chakra seeping out of him. Sasuke pulled his arm further back making Naruto grunt in pain and for more chakra to seep out, Kitsune noting with worry that his whiskers were becoming more defined and his eyes were turning a dangerous shade of red with small, unfeeling black slits..._

**-**


	11. Fight For All The Wrong Reasons

_**A/N**: Thanks to: _Mark20020, ouka the mafian, IMAGINATOR, piercing kage kitsune, Aaron Leach, ApexPredator, Icy Wolf13, DeExil, Dragon Man 180, Jordy rox ur sox, ZaBuchar, Dragonlord-ex_ (where are you?!), and _actionliker_ for reviewing the last chapter. I enjoyed doing this chap cause things get cleared up, there's fluff, and (of course) a good side of drama to keep you interested ;P_

**-**

**-**

**Episode 11 : Fight For All the Wrong Reasons**

**-**

**-**

Kitsune sighed in relief as she slowly lowered her body into the steaming water below, the hot springs worked their magic over her tanned skin as it's warmth seeped deep into her tense muscles, making them, and so Kitsune, finally start to unwind. Before she knew it, she felt herself close her eyes and lean her head back against the rocks, letting her mind float away. But after a few minutes, the teenager still found it impossible to entirely clear her mind as things just kept nagging her.

_'You need to tell them,'_ one voice kept repeating in her mind as she looked up to the night sky where the stars and moon's light still shone through the heavy steam from the open baths.

_'I will...'_ she answered herself in her head as she lowered half her face in the warm water, exhaling so that bubbles formed around her flushed face, _'...eventually,' _she added.

She dunked her entire head into the water before resurfacing with a gasp for air.

"I just...can't tell them _now,_" she finally voiced to herself as the heavy feeling of dread and fear started to increase in the pit of her stomach.

Only the soft sounds of crickets and bubbling water filled the air again as Kitsune sat there.

"I'm such a coward," she snarled at herself as she pulled her legs to her chest and hugged her knees. "I should tell them as soon as possible...they deserve as much as that," she continued on with a sigh, that dread in her stomach tripling at just the thought of having to confess everything.

She didn't know how long she stayed there, just sitting in the luke warm water, before a voice broke her out of her tranze.

"Kitsune?"

She blinked her hazel eyes as she heard her name being called from not far off.

"Yes?" she answered easily as she started running her hands through her long and thick hair in an attempt to get ride of the numerous tangles thanks to how her hair curled.

"Dinner's here," the voice continued, Kitsune recognizing it as that of Shizune.

"Alright. I'll be right there," Kitsune said with a smile on her face at the thought of food, and fancy _room service_ at that, which Naruto had once told her was the best.

She closed her eyes as she heard Shizune call a final ok before stepping out of the bathing area, leaving Kitsune alone yet again.

Dunking her head into the warm water once more, she finally got out and grabbed her white robe, twisting the fluffy texture over her lanky body before tying the ribbon around her waist to hold it in place. Grabbing a towel, she started to rub it in her vibrant hair to dry it. She easily continued from the hot springs to the hallway before finding the the room her, Tsunade, and Shizune were sharing while Jiraiya and Naruto had another. Opening the door gently, she looked inside to find the other four already there and had started eating.

"Sorry," Kitsune apologized as she took a seat next to Tsunade and broke her chopsticks with a small crack.

"We were going to wait, but _this guy_ here said he was going to die of starvation if we didn't start," Jiraiya said as he jerked a thumb to a blinking Naruto who was sitting next to him.

"Hey! You wanted to start too!" Naruto growled back in defiance as he stuffed shrimp tempura into his mouth.

"It's fine," Kitsune laughed, never getting tired of how flustered Naruto could get over the smallest thing.

So they continued eating, now with the company of Kitsune. During the dinner, Tsunade explained briefly as to what she'd been doing all these years which was really only gamble and train while Jiraiya explained to her what he'd been doing, traveling all the countries. With so much food, Kitsune had a hard time decifering all the different dishes but Naruto was pretty lax about explaining all of them to her. In the end, she had practically tasted everything.

When everyone was full and their mouths tired from talking, the five just leaned on the back of their hands in the comfortable silence. Well, four out of the five people were comfortable while the other was on edge as her leg would erratically twitch now and then.

"So...do we set off tomorrow?" Jiraiya interrupted the lengthy silence as he scratched his mass of white hair that was still slightly damp from the baths.

"Fine. But we get to hit the slots before we leave," Tsunade agreed as she flicked one of her low ponytails back over her shoulder.

"Sure, it's your money you'll be wasting anyway," Jiraiya said under his breath as he got up and started towards the door.

"Night Shizune, Baa-chan (Brat!), Kit-chan," Naruto said with a trademark foxy grin before he got up himself.

Kitsune felt the breath in her throat hike as she suddenly, without even thinking, grabbed onto the end of his bathhouse yukata.

"Kit-chan?" he asked with a curious expression as he looked down at her, Kitsune still refusing to say anything or let go of the white cloth that she was clinging on so desperately.

"I have to tell you something," she finally choked out as she looked up at his youthful face that suddenly expressed even more curiousity along with shock before back down to the floor.

"About what?" he asked as he crouched down, trying to see her eyes but finding that he couldn't because they were hidden behind a curtain of thick bangs.

"Everything," she said with a forced smile as she finally looked up, Naruto's eyes widening at how distressed she looked.

"Ah...sure," he struggled to say himself as he scratched his mass of blond hair. Hesitantly, he offered his hand to her and she released his clothing to grab onto it. Getting up, they was about to exit through the door when Tsunade and Jiraiya suddenly bared the door with their larger bodies.

"Huh?" Naruto mumbled out as he looked at how determined the two adults looked.

"You're telling US too," Tsunade stated as she crossed her arms over her large chest, eyes gleaming as if to dare them to say no.

"I'm interested too," Jiraiya stated as his hands moved to his hips, eyes narrowing at the two teens.

"Fine. I suppose you're right," Kitsune said before gulping, wanting this lump in her throat to just go away.

So, without another word, the four went back to the table and instead of Jiraiya sitting where he was before, he moved to Kitsune's spot next to Tsunade so that Kitsune could sit next to Naruto, the toad sage noticing that it didn't look like she was going to let go of the blond's hand anytime soon.

"I guess I should start from the beginning?" Kitsune said with a stale breath of laughter as she stared at the three adults in front of her. Even though she trusted them, it still didn't stop her heart from beating fast at the idea of telling them.

"Take your time," Jiraiya said with a nod of understanding, knowing that not everyone's past was something they wanted to remember.

Kitsune took a deep breath to try and relax her nerves and she looked down at her hand that Naruto was still holding, giving her a faint squeeze that made her look up at his grinning face that actually succeeded in making her feel a little more relaxed.

"Well, I don't know what country or town I'm from since I've grown up in the wild with foxes for as long as I can remember."

"Foxes?" Tsunade interjected with a raised eyebrow and a tone of clear disbelief.

"Just continue," Jiraiya said as he gave the toad sage a slight nudge with his elbow, signaling for the blond to not talk anymore and just let Kitsune go through her story without interruptions.

"Anyway, when I started to get older I started to venture away from the den and I'd see people move through the forest every now and then and when I felt especially daring I would follow them into villages sometimes. But because of certain...things, I would usually get kicked out of the village."

"What'd you do?" Naruto was the one this time who broke Kitsune's story.

"Well...you know how I can have wings with that jutsu?" Kitsune laughed nervously, "Well, they thought I was some sort of sign or...I don't even remember really anymore. But the main thing was really how I didn't know how to talk your language right away."

"...you couldn't talk?" Shizune asked in fasination.

"I talked fox," Kitsune said without even blinking, a straight expression on her face.

"You...what?" Jiraiya asked in bewilderment.

"Well, humans aren't the only one with a language you know," Kitsune huffed, "And since I grew up with foxes I learned their's first, although I've sorta forgotten a little since I haven't talked to them lately, well, excluding Kota of course."

"So you talk to foxes?" Tsunade said as she held down a scoff of laughter, finding that this girl was more interesting then she bargened for.

"Anyway," Naruto growled at the adults, slightly irked at how they didn't believe her, "Back to your past."

"Right...anyway, I finally left the den altogether and I started going to towns more and more often, picking up the language and how to act so that I wouldn't stick out horribly anymore. But then..." she drifted off as her eyes became slightly glassy and distant.

"Come on," Naruto encouraged as he nudged her with his shoulder.

"That's when HE found me," she finally bite out coldly.

"Who?" Jiraiya asked as his eyes narrowed, Tsunade turning away as she already knew the answer.

"Orochimaru." Kitsune spat out before continuing on before Jiraiya could say anything, "It was really just another day in the forest and he sadly came upon me when I was tired from a village trip and he captured me. It was...horrible," she shivered as she remembered the scalpals and needles.

"What'd he do to you?" Jiraiya asked in all seriousness, his face as rigid as stone.

"I...don't really know since I don't clearly remember, but I think he was really just interested in how I regenerated," Kitsune admitted with downshifted eyes.

"Did he ever curse you?" The toad sage continued.

"What's that?" Kitsune asked with a furrowed brow.

"It's when he...sets a seal on you so that he can take control over your body and powers," Jiraiya was quick to downsize the full truth.

"He does that by biting you in the neck, right?" Kitsune asked as she jabbed at the place where Orochimaru had bitten her just a few days ago.

"Yes," Jiraiya nodded in affirmation.

"Well...he did do that a lot to me when he had me captured," Kitsune admitted.

Jiraiya's stomach suddenly knotted painfully as his eyebrows further furrowed.

"But it never worked. I remember it he would get really mad because of it," Kitsune said with a huge grin that was actually sincere.

"Wha...?" Tsunade stumbled to say. "How is that possible?"

"Don't ask me." Kitsune said with a shrug, feeling immensely better that they hadn't immediately shrunken away form her after learning about her more traumatizing thing in her life.

"Well, we can worry about that later," Jiraiya confirmed, "Just continue."

Kitsune nodded herself before breathing in and continuing, "I was in there for a while, but when the full moon one night and I transformed, I managed to sneak out of the lair and run away. I hadn't seen him until the Chunin Exams when I'd smelt him in the forest and..." she drifted off, suddenly extracting her hand away from Naruto's.

"And I bolted straight for the finish point without a second thought so that I wouldn't have to come in contact with him. But...I feel so horrible that I did because I left you all by yourself," Kitsune said in a depressed tone as she glanced over at Naruto who was looking at her with wide eyes.

"You...ran away?" he asked to confirm.

"I'm not that brave you know. My Mother Fox always taught me that pride and courage were worthless if you didn't live to see another day," she admitted, as she looked away from his bright blue eyes that always seemed to see everything that she was.

Naruto stayed silent as he looked at his empty hands since Kitsune had taken away her's that he'd been holding.

"And what about after that?" Jiraiya prompted.

"After that...I meet you and everything was fine. Well...for the most part anyway," Kitsune said with a grin that she didn't full feel.

"I see..." Tsunade said as she rubbed her chin, a blinking Shizune sitting next to her.

"Then if there's nothing else, I'm going to bed," Jiraiya said as he easily got up from the table for a second time that evening. "It's fairly late and we should go to sleep since we're waking up early tomorrow," the sage continued as he grabbed Naruto by his collar and dragged him to the door.

"Night everyone," Jiraiya called.

"Night," Naruto said in a plain voice as he let himself be pulled by Jiriaya as he closed the door to the ladies room with a definant click.

"I'm going to bed," Tsunade said as she got up to pull out her bedding, Shizune saying the same in the next few seconds as she got up to follow her elder.

Kitsune blinked at the empty dishes, Naruto's face of disbelief still in her head.

**-**

Naruto sighed to himself as he rolled over in his bedding. Even though he was dead tired, he felt like he couldn't sleep after he'd heard everything from Kitsune this evening. He had guessed that she wasn't a normal perosn, as almost all shinobi were, but it still shocked him as to what she'd gone through.

Huffing in annoyance at how he knew he wasn't going to sleep anytime, he kicked off his blanket before tip-toeing to the room's door, taking a double look at Jiraiya's peacefully snoring persona before opening it and going into the hallway. Sighing in relief as he'd gotten out of the room, he continued down the hallway until it opened into a small garden that was neatly cared for. He looked up at the clear skies to see an three fourths or so full moon shining down on him and easily lighting the place.

Taking off the white house slippers they were given when the checked in, he started on the rock paved path barefoot, liking how the cool surfaces of the stones made the bottoms of his feet tingly. Looking up again, he held down a gasp as he saw a lone figure sitting on one of the benches.

At the sudden sound, the person looked up and Naruto found that it was Kitsune's face he was now looking at.

They both blinked at each other before Kitsune plastered a smile on her face and rose a hand as if in greeting. Naruto did the same before going over to her and sitting on the other side of the bench, his legs guiding him there before his brain gave the order.

The soft night wind blew through the garden and caused a few of the chimes that were hanging around to jingle as an owl hooted far off.

"So...could you not sleep either?" Naruto's voice suddenly cut through the night air as he glanced over at a stiffly sitting Kitsune.

"No," she answered bluntly.

"Hn..." Naruto hummed his understanding as silence crept up on the couple again.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto turned his head at Kitsune who had suddenly whispered the apology.

"For what?" he asked as he found he couldn't hold down the faint feeling of amusement at how she looked funny as she sat there nibbling on her bottom lip nervously.

"For abandoning you," she continued to whisper as she drew her knees to her chest, feeling more secure if she had something to hold.

Naruto was silent as he looked back up at the sky, not commenting.

"I know you're dissapointed in me," Kitsune continued to miserably drabble.

The blond blinked at the bright moon before moving his eyes back to her hunched over form.

"I'm not dissapointed."

"...You're angry then."

"I'm not angry either, idiot," he said with a roll of his eyes, finally letting out a sigh of breath that he'd been holding.

Kitsune didn't say anything as she kept her face hidden between her knees before he looked up at him with eyes that glimmered in the dull moonlight.

"I'm just shocked is all. I just was under the impression that maybe you didn't run away from anything. I mean, you went all out with Gaara," he nervously admitted.

"That's only cause you were in obvious trouble I could see and anyway...I'm only human," Kitsune snorted as she finally fully lifted her head and put her feet back on the ground, now feeling secure enough that she didn't have to cling to anything.

"I know. We all have that feeling of self-protection that sometimes overweighs the need to help others," Naruto continued with wisdom that he didn't even know he had. It must be how he's always around Jiraiya now a days.

Yet at the slight bitter under tone in his wise statement, Kitsune dropped her head again.

"But I know that one day you'll think of others before yourself like me. You'll see that you'll want to protect people with all that you have in no time," he added with a wide grin that was brashly thrown her way.

Kitsune found the breath caught in her chest at his eyes that sparkled with something she couldn't describe before a smile of her own bloomed across her pretty face as she finally managed to reply, "I hope so too."

**-**

"Jiraiya-SENSEEEEI!"

Not only did the white haired sage wince at the whiny, high pitched tone of Kitsune but so did the other three people in their travel group, even Tonton.

"What is it Kitsune?" he sighed as he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Teach me something!" she said in an excited tone that the sage wasn't at all interested in. After a few days on the road Kitsune had finally gotten back to her normal, hyperactive self after she'd revealed everything that had happened to her, and all the traveling companions were relieved. Yet after two more days of this overly energetic attitude, they only found it tiring.

"I've already taught you a few jutsus. Just practice _those_." He sighed in an exasperated tone as he wondered if he'd ever get some time to relax.

"But..."

"Anyway, if you want someone to teach you something, why don't you just ask _BLOND BOY_ up there," Jiraiya said as he looked up to Naruto who was a few paces in front of everyone.

"Good idea!" Kitsune said as she clasped her hands as she sprinted up to the shorter teen, resisting the urge to jump on his back and surprise him.

"Hey Naru-chan!" she chirped as she came up to his side, easily keeping up with her long legs.

"Ah...hey Kit-chan," he said with a glance her way before he focused back on the road.

Suddenly feeling self-concious, Kitsune started twiddling her fingers as she continued walking, torn between asking him to teach her yet not wanting to annoy him since Jiraiya seemed annoyed when she asked him.

"What do you want to ask?"

Kitsune whiped her head up, eyes wide in surprise as to how he knew she wanted to ask him something. But as he pointed to her collar, she blushed in an embarassed way, completely forgetting about it.

"Plus, it was written all over your face," he added with a breath of laughter that made Kitsune giggle herself.

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Well...I was just wonderin...could you maybe teach me something?"

Naruto almost missed his step, slightly stumbling at her request. "But I've never taught anything before!" he exclaimed, the thought of teaching never even crossing his mind since he was still so young.

"Hey! I'd never taught anyone before, but I taught you that fighting style!" Kitsune countered.

"Which I've never really used..." Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"Hey!" Kitsune snapped as the hairs on the back of her neck bristled in annoyance.

"Fine, fine! I guess I owe you one," Naruto sighed out in defeat, making Kitsune's smile come back onto her freckled face. "What do you want to learn?"

Kitsune's face blanked. "I haven't thought of that. I thought you'd just teach me whatever YOU wanted. That's what Jiraiya-sensei did," she admitted as she rubbed her chin.

"Well...you don't know how to write, right?" he asked as he glanced up at her again.

"Hey! I don't!" Kitsune gasped, "And I really SHOULD know, shouldn't I?" Kitsune continued as she remembered all the writing in the various towns that they'd visited throughout this fairly long road trip.

"Well, we can start tonight since we can't do it while we're walking too well if that's what you want," Naruto said with a shrug.

"Perfect!" Kitsune gushed as she slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey Naruto?" she asked as she looked down at him.

"Yeah?"

"Have you grown?"

Naruto looked up at her and finally did notice that he didn't have to look up so much as before.

"I guess..." he drawled off as a ball of excitment went off in his chest. "I KNEW drinking all that milk would start to pay off!" he exclaimed happily as he pumped his fist in the air, Kitsune mirroring the action in a few seconds to join in on the celebration.

The three adults, two teens, and pig continued to walk until it started getting dark and they started setting up camp just off the trail in a clearing of the forest.

"You're not hunting today Kitsune?" Jiraiya asked as he noted she had yet to run off like she usually did.

"Nope," she beamed, making the sage raise an eyebrow in curiousity. "Naruto's going to teach me how to write and read so I'm staying RIGHT here so that we can start as soon as possible," she explained as her toothy grin grew.

Naruto came back to the little set up a few minutes later with his arms full of wood which he dropped carelessly onto the ground before going over and throwing himself on the grassy ground next to Kitsune.

"I'm ready!" Kitsune happily sang as he hovered her face over his. Naruto sighed, knowing that he'd already promised and so had no way out of this, before he rolled over onto his side and sat back up. He reached an arm over to his bag and opened the flap, pulling out a blank scroll and a pen.

"Alright, first I'm going to teach you all the basic characters and once you can read and write them perfectly we'll move on from there. Now, remember not to get frustrated cause this'll take ANY person, unless they're a genius, a while to learn. It's only easy to everyone else cause we grew up with it while you grew up learning fox," Naruto explained, knowing that her temper might flare up at herself.

A snort from across the fire made the pair look up to find Tsunade with a disbelieving expression on her face.

"I still don't believe you about the fox thing," the current Hokage said with an air of superiority that she'd earned over the years.

Not wanting to start a fight since she wanted Naruto to teach her more, Kitsune simply opened her mouth and let a variety of noises that had the other traveling companions gawking.

"I just said that you're being nosy and you should leave us alone," Kitsune said with the air of superiority around HER now.

Turning back to Naruto, she noticed that he had a large grin plastered on his face.

"Can YOU teach me how to speak fox?" he asked as his eyes glimmered, thinking that if he had to learn another language why not learn one from an entire different species.

"Um...I guess. Although it's gonna be hard," Kitsune said as she held down the shock in her voice, not thinking that Naruto would want to learn something so irrelevant to a ninja lifestyle. But she kept her questions to herself as she just wanted him to start teaching her.

"Alright, now, come a little closer since the fire doesn't give that much light," he ordered as he patted the spot to his left which Kitsune scooted over to.

Naruto had a remarkably patient teaching style for somebody who was usually so hyperactive. His voice was slow and pleasant as he pointed out how to first hold the pen and then how to do the strokes. His voice was a little bit deeper than it usually was when he talked fast in ordinary conversation since he wanted to go slow so that Kitsune would fully understand and not get mad at him for going too fast. When she'd try to write something, his tanned hands pointed out the good and bad points of how she was doing. His cerulean eyes were soft in the faint light and his blonde hair fell into his eyes since he'd taken off his forehead protector. He brushed it back occasionally since it would obstruct his view of the scroll they were both writing on, but the bangs would constantly go back.

Unknown to the two, the tops of their heads were almost touching as they were both leaning intently over the paper, their eyes on the ink that was being shaped into writing. They were so close that their legs and shoulders were constantly brushing in the slightest movement and if by chance either or both of them moved to look at each other, their faces would be less than a few inches apart.

"Alright, you have a few down, but I want you to watch me do all of them again so that you really see the order of the strokes since you kinda keep screwed up the order," Naruto instructed as he glanced up from the paper to her nodding head before going back to the parchment and placing the tip on the paper, getting ready to start.

But Kitsune's eyes moved up from the paper to his hand, and then up his bare arm, and then finally up to his concentrated face. Kitsune realized, as she reassessed her blonde friend, that Naruto was sort of good-looking to what she'd seen of other people their age. She wanted to hit herself when she didn't know why she hadn't realized it before, only breifly when they were both dressed up for the festival. His eyes were the perfect shade of blue even in the fire's light, (cerulean of course), and twinkled with pure excitment in almost everything he did. His smile was wide and lit up his face whenever he decided to showcase one and he had tanned skin just like Kitsune's (maybe a little lighter) with hair that was a nice straw blonde that had been bleached by the sun during all the hours he spent out outside training and the thick locks stuck up naturally without any aid or gel in a sort of nice way. Kitsune held down a giggle as she noticed his hair was like his personality, always upbeat and could never be held down.

Naruto smiled up at her when he finished his penmanship and Kitsune noticed that it was a bit lopsided, only one dimple and how one fang nicked his bottom lip. It was kind of childish, but it made his face seem more angular, and the whisker marks more rugged. It made him look…handsome.

Naruto tilted his head at her with now a curious look, the usual boyish expression on his face and the different Naruto that she had been seeing a moment ago was altogether gone except for the trace of glimmering in his vibrant eyes.

"You alright Kit-chan?" Naruto asked as his eyebrows bunched together in worry and partial annoyance, wondering if he had to go through it all _again_. "You seem a little red," he continued to talk as he moved his face to only mere inches from hers, as if their faces hadn't been close enough already.

Embarassed by her thoughts and finally noticing how his body was so close to hers, she pushed him away in a flustered way, her thoughts on anything else rather then learning how to write at the moment.

"I have to…um…go do something away from here!" she finally stuttered before trying to continue with, "I-I'm going to go uh...TAKE A BATH! Yeah...go take a bath in the river." She jumped up from the ground and sprinted away, leaving a confused Naruto and smiling Jiraiya behind who spared a glance over at Tsunade who was smiling herself.

"Oi! IDIOT! The river's practically freezing right now!" Naruto yelled after her as he stood, the scroll rolling from his lap onto the ground.

Yet she was long gone and wasn't going to come back until her face didn't feel like it was on fire.

**-**

Kitsune felt like screaming.

And she did.

"JEEZ!" Naruto snarled as he put his hands over his ears. "I know that you're happy to be back and all, but you don't need to scream at such a frequency that'll make Kakashi's dog's ears _bleed_!" he continued as he poked a finger in each ear, trying to get ride of the incessive ringing that she'd caused.

"I'm sorry it's just...RAMEN! KOTA!" she squealed before she was off in the next second, sprinting down the road.

"Kitsune, WAIT!" Naruto yelled as he sped off after her, "You don't even know where EITHER of those things ARE!"

Finally, after a much too long sprint for Naruto's like, he caught up to her just as she turned a corner and, subsequently, crashed into a barrel that had been collecting water from the gutters, causing it to spill all over the road. Finally, after she'd picked herself up with as much dignity as she could scrape together, she held her head high as Naruto showed her the way to the hospital, explaining that they first needed to watch Tsunade heal Sasuke and Lee before they went off to eat or go pick up Kota.

It didn't take long with their quick walking for them to arrive at the white washed place, picking the pace up after the nurse told them the room as to where the patients were located. Kitsune had argued that they should go to Lee first, but Naruto had won the battle of rock-papper-scissors and he'd decided to see Sasuke first.

"Ah!" both Naruto and Kitsune exclaimed as they saw Tsunade and Shizune just as they were going to enter the room.

"You're gonna heal him, right?" Naruto asked in excitement as he jumped in place, hands once again forming into fist and pumping through the air.

"Yes, yes, Naruto. Now move so I can get in," Tsunade sighed as she pushed away the shorter teen and entered the room with grace.

Naruto and Kitsune peeked their heads in and eeped when they saw Sakura at the foot of Sasuke's bed, compassionatly holding his still hand in hers.

"Are you Sakura Haruno?" the sage asked in a sympathetic voice, the pink haired teen nodding her head in confirmation.

"You don't have to worry anymore cause this old hag's gonna heal Sasuke!" Naruto suddenly laughed as he fully entered, holding two thumbs up while flashing his best smile. Kitsune growled at him before she sprung from behind, still being tall enough to clamp her hands over his mouth without a problem.

"Sorry about that," Kitsune nervously laughed as she Sakura and Tsunade's eyes moved away from the bubbly blond to Sasuke.

"Let me see what's going on," Tsunade said calmly as she went over to the head of the bed and put a hand to his forehead. She stayed like that for a few seconds as Sakura watched while holding her breath, Kitsune still keeping her hands over Naruto's mouth so that he wouldn't yell something at this tense moment.

"He'll be fine. He should be waking up soon anyway," Tsunade finally said, the news making Sakura sigh in relief as she squeezed Sasuke's hand tighter, willing her joyful tears not to fall.

Tsunade silently left the room, Shizune trailing after her without a word. Kitsune slid her hands off of Naruto's mouth before giving him a squeeze around the shoulders in a sloppy hug and leaving the room herself, knowing that she really had no part in the team threesome. Yet Kitsune sneaked her head in and continued to watch Naruto watch a still sleeping Sasuke and Sakura whose tears were falling anyway.

She felt a pang in her chest as she knew that Naruto liked Sakura. It must be so hard to watch the one you like chase after someone else without so much as a thought to your feelings. She blinked as she wondered if he was feeling what she was feeling when she watched him with Sakura.

Suddenly, she saw him shake his head and start to turn around, and so she quickly snapped her head back around the door and waited for the few seconds until his body reappeared in her vision. Her eyes widened as she saw the small, almost sad smile on his face as he starred down at his sandal covered feet.

"Is everything alright Naru-chan?" she asked in a soft voice as she daringly placed a hand on his shoulder, wanting to comfort him not only with words but with touch.

"Yeah. I think it actually is," he said after a long pause as he looked up from the ground to Kitsune's concerned face, even putting a hand on her shoulder just as she was doing to him.

They stared at each other, Kitsune trying to decifer if he was telling the truth or not, before a smile bloomed on her face and she shook her head to break their eyecontact.

"Come on, I wanna know Tsunade says about Lee before we leave," she said as she took her hand off of his shoulder. When he didn't take his off of her's she awkwardly cleared her throat before she turned her body, brushing his hand off in the process.

"Coming?" she called over her shoulder, yet not too loudly as to disturb the other patients.

Naruto took one last glance into the room where it seemed like Sasuke was finally starting to wake up before back to Kitsune's retreating form. He took one last stare at the room before he took off after the tall red head.

**-**

"This sucks," Kitsune huffed as she and Naruto walked the streets, having just gotten out of the hospital. "I can't believe Tsunade wouldn't tell us about his condition AND not allow us to see him," she continued to rant as she turned and kicked the closest thing to her that was consequently a building's wall made of bricks, making her retract her now throbbing bare foot.

"Relax. We can always just sneak in to visit busy brows after we check up on Sasuke tomorrow," Naruto explained as they rounded a corner, now only another turn away from their pecious ramen stand.

"Yeah, well...fine," Kitsune sighed in defeat as she lowered her head slightly, hands now shoved in her baggy orange pant pockets.

"And anyway, just think of the wonderous food we're about to partake in!" Naruto said as he nudged her in the ribs playfully.

"Alright, alright Mr. Optimistic," Kitsune said with a roll of her eye as she nudged him right back, thus beginning a game of shoving as they rounded the final corner before the blessed food booth came into their view.

Forgetting about shoving shoulders, the two bolted for the stools, yet stopped just at the right moment as they saw a very familiar face.

"Iruka-sensei/senpai!" the two exclaimed at the same time with wide eyes.

"Long time no see Naruto, Kitsune," the kind teacher said as he waved his hand once in a greating, his other hand busily holding chopsticks and shoving noodles into his now smiling mouth.

"You won't BELIVE the stories we have to tell you!" Naruto said as he sat down next to the only parental figure in his life.

"Yeah!" Kitsune agreed as she sat at the other side of Naruto.

"Then lay um on me while I buy you guys a few bowls," Iruka said though a smile as he saw the two teens cheer, not caring at the moment if it was the last of his salary for the month that he'd wanted to spend on that gourmet coffee.

**-**

"Thanks Ino!" Kitsune called over her shoulder as she left the cute flower shop with Naruto.

"Did we REALLY have to spend all that money on FLOWERS?" Naruto sighed out in annoyance as he looked at his now deflated froggy.

"Come on Naruto, stop being stingy," Kitsune said as she nudged Naruto. Naruto ignored her as he scoffed. Kitsune furrowed her brow at this.

"Someone's grumpy," Kitsune continued now with a sour tone in her voice.

The two walked in the street as the flowers bounced with every long stride of Kitsune's as she was holding the two large bunches.

"I'm not mad just...on edge," Naruto sighed out as he ran a hand through his shocking hair.

"Don't worry. I understand, but everything will be alright if you just relax," Kitsune tried to comfort as she nudged him again.

She smiled as he nudged her back.

It didn't take the two of them long before they found themselves standing in front of Sasuke's room with slightly hesitant thoughts.

"You know...we could always leave the flowers out here for the nurse to take in," Kitsune suggested with a breath of nervous laughter.

Naruto glared at the closed white door before he shook his head once, yet in a very definitive way; Kitsune knowing by his face that he was serious about this.

She was about to open her mouth again, but Naruto didn't give her the chance as he stuck out his right hand and twisted the bronze nob, opening the room for the two of them to enter. Naruto marched right in there without a showing the slightest bit of unease, but Kitsune wasn't so willing to follow as her steps were smaller and not so confident.

As her hazel eyes looked up from the bouquet of flowers in her large hands, she found a glaring Sasuke and a slightly shaken Sakura.

She inwardly slapped herself in the face as she knew she should have listened to the tingling on the back of her neck and left the visiting of the Uchiha to the blond. She hated to get caught up in things that she really had no place to be in in the first place.

Kitsune was so obsorbed in her self-punishing thoughts that she didn't hear what the two boys were growling at each other about and before she knew it, she felt the swish of air as the two passed by her to get to the roof.

"...what just happened?" Kitsune blinked as she stood there after a few seconds, still as a statue, with the flowers still clamped in her hands.

"They're going to go fight on the roof!" Sakura said with wide eyes that were watering in fear.

Kitsune actually slapped herself on the forehead this time as she threw the expensive flowers onto the white blanketed bed before sprinting after them, taking the stairs with three steps at a time. Getting to the roof's door, she allowed her hand to linger on the dull coppper nob for a minute in contemplation before she twisted and opened it with a deft movement of her wrist, hearing Sakura starting to come closer to the roof.

Her hazel eyes widened as she looked at the two teenage boys as they glared at each other, Kitsune getting a shiver down her spine as she felt the anger in Naruto as he wiped some blood that had dribbled down his chin from a split in his lip. Maybe Naruto had been hesitant to visit his friend this morning because he thought this would happen? Kitsune couldn't think of any satisfactory reason.

Suddenly, she felt something knock into her back and found a slightly panting Sakura, her green eyes widening in shock and fear as she saw her two teammates.

"STOP it you guys! Come on!" she was frantic to yell as tears started to form again, Kitsune's chest tightening again for the pink haired girl at the situation that was clearly tearing up the younger girl. Kitsune didn't want to think about what she'd do if two people she cared deeply about started fighting.

"STOP IT!" Sakura now wailed as she made a lunge to stop the fight. But Kitsune was too quick for her as she grabbed her small waist, making the green eyed kunoichi stop before she had gotten five feet.

"You need to let them sort this out or else it'll just happen again," Kitsune voiced with sympathetic eyes, knowing from experience with her fox brothers and family. Sakura actually listened to to the older teen and went back the few feet she had jumped and Kitsune released her grip on her middle, glad that Sakura had listened to her.

Kitsune turned her head back from Sakura's face that was twisted in worry to the two boys, noticing the entire time that they hadn't even glanced their way when Sakura had yelled her lungs out.

He either didn't hear her, or ignored her.

His ravishing cerulean eyes were narrowed in an expression of intense hatred toward one of his first friends he'd ever made and his body was covered in dust from the dirty hospital roof. He was doubled over, one arm clutching the left side of his ribcage that the black haired boy standing across of him had obviously just punched. Sasuke, on the other hand, stood straight, smirking, his arms folded with not a single scratch on him, or as far as Kitsune could see. His black eyes were cold and uncaring as he continued to glare down at the person who was on the same team.

Naruto let out a roar of fury before brashly charging at Sasuke, taking a desperate swing at his head. Sasuke dodged easily, caught Naruto's arm, and twisted it behind Naruto's back, easily pinning him. Kitsune could now see how Naruto had constantly struggled against the Uchiha for as long as they'd know each other, but she would have had to have seen it to believe it. Naruto was not easily beaten, out of pure stubbornness alone, as she had easily seen through her time with him so far.

The blond tried to twist out of Sasuke's grip, and Kitsune were close enough as she stood next to Sakura to see that Sasuke's veins stood out in his hand because he was gripping Naruto so hard, pouring chakra into his own hands to keep the younger of the two steady. Naruto struggled harder and Kitsune could lightly see orange chakra seeping out of him. Sasuke pulled his arm further back making Naruto grunt in pain and for more chakra to seep out, Kitsune noting with worry that his whiskers were becoming more defined and his eyes were turning a dangerous shade of red with small, unfeeling black slits.

Kitsune now desperatly wanted to lunge in and stop the fray, but she knew that she couldn't. She had not right.

Dropping her head down, she let her bangs cover her eyes as she looked at her large feet, not wanting to watch the fight between supposed allies anymore.

"NO!" Sakura's sudden screech as she broke from her side caused Kitsune to snap her head up just in time to see Naruto and Sasuke both with what she guessed to be their most powerful attacks. Making a desperate sprint towards Sakura, she grabbed her arm and pulled her back out of harms way just as a flash suddenly knocked the two girls to the ground.

Kitsune looked up with blinking eyes to find non other then Kakashi standing above her and Sakura, having just successfully flown Naruto and Sasuke away from each other before they could deliver the fatal blow.

"Sensei!" Naruto was first to snap as he growled over at his former teacher, Kitsune finding in relief that his eyes were once again their brilliant blue and not hot orange.

Sasuke didn't say anything, only offering a sneer in Naruto's way, before he leapt off.

Kitsune sighed as she dropped her body back onto the cement ground, faintly hearing Sakura ask her teacher what was happening as the silver haired man tried to comfort her and say it'll all be alright.

Finally taking her hands off of her eyes, she opened them to stare at the blue sky before she got up, dusting off her orange jumpsuit in the process.

As she looked around, she found in irritation that Naruto had fled the scene as well.

"Kitsune, what ha-" Kakashi tried to talk to the vibrant haired teen before she bounded off too.

Kakashi sighed as he ran a hand through his hair as he felt Jiraiya's chakra signature, knowing there was a long talk ahead with the sage.

**-**

Naruto let out an annoyed yell as he took the nearest pillow in his apartment and flung it at the wall, not caring how it caused a plant to fall and for it's ceramic pot to shatter on the ground. He took another pillow and started to pull it, succeeding in ripping it in half, the blond watching with uninterested eyes as the stuffing rained down on the floor. In the back of his mind, he was shocked at how he was letting his anger out in such a brash way, but all he could think about right now was how much Sasuke was a bastard sometimes.

He next stuck his arm out for a stuffed elephant when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and halted him from getting it. Looking up with an unappeased expression, he found Kitsune was wearing one of uneasiness and...worry?

"What?" he said in a flat voice as he took his hand back from her, ignoring how her eyes seemed to plead without words for him to go back to his normal self.

"Naruto, you need to calm down," Kitsune said as her voice wavered the slightest bit, not used to talking to him when he was like this and so not knowing how to handle it.

"You just don't understand," he defended as he felt even more annoyance.

"Maybe I don't," Kitsune said and broke off for a second to bite her bottom lip, "but I know when everything has to be eventually forgiven and forgotten."

"It's not that _easy._" Clearly Naruto wasn't going to give in.

"Maybe it _is_ if you opened your mind like you usually do!" Kitsune said right back.

"Yeah, well...you're just someone from the WILD! How would YOU understand our lives?!" Naruto questioned as he took a heavy step towards her.

Kitsune opened her mouth to retort but found that whatever words she was going to say were stuck in her throat.

"YOU don't know ANYTHING," Naruto continued as he took a few more steps so that they were in each other's faces.

"Fine," Kitsune snapped as she turned away, her long hair slapping Naruto in the face, causing him to start rubbing his eyes. "I'm leaving."

As Naruto took his hands away from his eyes, he found that Kitsune was no longer standing in front of him, much less in the apartment anymore.

"Damn!" he swore to himself as he had the sudden urge to punch himself in the stomach for being such a jerk and exploding at the one person who probably understood him the most and was only trying to help.

Sometimes he really pissed himself off.

**-**

**-**

**END OF EPISODE 11!**

**-**

**Preview Fo****r:**

**Episode 12 : So Far Away**

_Naruto groaned as he rolled over in his bed, having gotten barely a wink of sleep last night. He closed his eyes as he reminised on how Kitsune was usually there right next to him whenever they went to bed and no matter how much he argued, she would always find her way to him while he was sleeping. After a while, he had finally accepted it and it wasn't all that bad. Especially on those cold nights when they were on the road, her radiating body warmth making him feel like he was in a safe place._

_But his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard a knock at his door. Flinging himself off of his bed, not caring how his hat flew off, he lunged towards the door and opened it with a strong tug, hoping he would find Kitsune on the other side._

_When he saw the tired face of Shikamaru, he was not the slightest bit appeased. If anything, he now felt _worse_._

_"Look Shikamaru, I don't know why you're hear but right now is NOT a good ti-"_

_"It's Sasuke. He's gone."_

_Naruto's bright eyes widened as Kitsune was shoved out of his brain for the moment._

**-**


	12. So Far Away

_**A/N**: Thanks to: _Dragon Man 180, Icy Wolf13, ZaBuchar, DeExil, Mark20020, IMAGINATOR, ApexPredator, Aaron Leach, Paul Evans, _and_ narutojazz19 _for reviewing the last chapter._

**-**

**-**

**Episode 12 : So Far Away**

**-**

**-**

Harsh pants escaping through Kitsune's mouth and nose, every wheeze feeling like iron wool was being scraped against her lungs as she tried to get control over her breathing. She finally managed to jump onto a random tiled roof and lied down in exhaustion for a minute before standing up again, not wanting her muscles to cramp up.

Eventually, the rapid pounding of her heart began to slow and she sighed gratefully as the cool morning air started to take an effect on her sweaty body. She squinted up at the rising sun and realized that she had run almost the entire night. Now looking down from her high perch to the beginning morning crowd, with their cheery morning attitudes and greetings, her face scrunched up in distaste as their merry attitudes were exactly opposite to her own.

Yet, as she had nothing else better to do, she watched the various people pass by far below her feet. After a few minutes she couldn't help but let her mind wander to the reason of why she'd run the entire night. Quickly after she'd disappeared from Naruto and their apartment, she really had the urge to sprint back and say sorry, but her pride wouldn't take it and so she had practically tried running away yet found that she couldn't get fifty miles from the town before she had run all the way back, yet she REFUSED to go back to their apartment in case that idiot blond caught her and so she'd practically ran around in circles all night to get ride of her excess energy caused by this fueling annoyance. Huffing at those thoughts, causing a few of her long bangs to rearrange on her flushed-from-exercise face, she confirmed to herself that it's HIS fault for their little tiff and she had absolutely NO responsibility to go over there and apologize. If anything, HE should be the one running up to HER and begging at her feet for forgiveness since all she'd been trying to do was HELP him when he'd practically thrown her out.

Sighing yet again, she allowed herself to lazily flop back onto her back and stare up at the clouds that absently passed through the morning sky, vaguely lit up with colorful light hues from the young morning sun. As she saw a particular shade of deep orange, she shot up from her down position again as the sudden thought of Kota.

"I need to find Ko-chan," she said outloud as she suddenly got to her feet in a hurry, holding her nose up to the air to try and find her trusty partner. With so many different scents in the crowded village, Kitsune found that she needed to use her Beast Senses to find Kota's scent. When she did find it, she opened her eye and blinked in surprise, finding that Kiba's and many dog's scents were mixed in. But as she remembered in another brain flash how Jiraiya had said he'd put her fox in the care of Kiba's sister who was a vet, it all clicked. So without another thought or word, she started jumping the roofs to the outskirts of the east side of the village where Kiba and his family resided.

As she arrived at the cozy house that was nuzzled in the thicket of a few old trees, she suddenly felt hesitant. Sure, she knew Kiba as an aquantance (at best) and he was taking care of her pet, but that still wasn't exactly enough in her mind to suffice if she suddenly dropped out of nowhere and knocked on his door with a sweet smile.

But as she reaffirmed that she needed Kota, especially since she hadn't seen him in what seemed like forever, it gave her enough courage to square her shoulders stubbornly and stiffly march up to the wooden door. Her hand shook a little as she formed it into a fist and lightly knocked on the hard surface. She was about to knock for a second time, but she started to faintly hear footsteps and before she knew it, the door flew open, barely missing her nose, to reveal Kiba.

The young ninja blinked in surprise at seeing the bright haired girl standing at his door, arms crossed behind her in an obviously nervous way, before he grinned devilishly at Kitsune, the type of grin that only a guy thinking he's hot can give to a girl. Kitsune blinked herself as she compared Kiba's type of smile to the one that Naruto gave her and found that they were completely different. Naruto's was more the grin of an enthusiastic kindergartner first seeing his best friend in the morning type of grin, not the kind of 'I think you and I should get together' like Kiba's. She wanted to slap herself as she wished for a split second that Naruto would smile like Kiba to her.

"What can I help ya with?" his gruff voice broke Kitsune from her thoughts and forced her to look at him as he leaned against the door, that confident grin still set on his wild face.

"Ah...I'm here to pick up my fox," she finally managed to word as she looked at his slanted eyes.

"Fox...?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. A tall, white haired guy had supposedly dropped him off...a month or so ago in fact," she explained as she rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment, thoughts once again as to how she really wasn't so great of a owner.

"Ya know, my family takes care of DOGS not anything else-"

"Kiba! Whose at the door!"

Kitsune wanted to gasp as she heard a female voice that held just as much confidence as Kiba's grin.

While rolling his eyes, Kiba moved aside from the door to let his older sister Hana get a clear view of Kitsune.

"I'm here to pick up my fox Kota," Kitsune repeated, her hands slightly shaking behind her back as she saw the older girl's eyes bore into her own hazel. Finally, not being able to take Hana's stare anymore, Kitsune bashfully looked down at her bare feet while internally cursing herself for not being able to hold the eyecontact any longer.

"Yes, yes. I remember now. Cheery little fellow. If you wait a second I'll wake him up for you since he's been sleeping a lot lately," Hana's sentences were as sharp as her long canines that she showed off in a smile to Kitsune before she disappeared into the house yet again, leaving the two teenagers by themselves once again.

"So...where's Naruto?" Kiba finally asked out to get ride of the unnerving silence.

"Why should I care?" Kitsune sneered, showing off her own sharp teeth as they brushed against her bottom lip.

"Whoa...someone's defensive," Kiba blinked, thinking that everything between the blond and her was cheery and great like it always looked.

Kitsune sighed as she realized she'd put her anger out on someone who didn't deserve it. "Sorry," she whispered the apology as she slumped her shoulders.

"...no worries," Kiba snorted, not used to seeing Kitsune in such a down like mood.

"Here ya go," Hana interrupted the two as she pushed Kiba aside non too gently, holding out her arms that held Kota who had seemed to have grown yet again and was now the size of a normal dog, making Kitsune think of how strong Hana was too to carry him with ease.

"He got fatter," Kitsune observed as she grabbed him from Hana, almost groaning at the dead weight.

"Hey, he's a growing fox, and mind telling me why he has _two_ tails?" Hana asked as she crossed her arms in front of her full chest, tapping her foot against the floor for further emphasis.

"Well...long story, too short on time," the words fell out of Kitsune's mouth before she could stop herself. Giving a final smile as a goodbye, she dissapeared in a swoosh as she jumped away.

Kiba and Hana looked at the spot where the orange jump-suited girl had been not a second ago before they both sighed (for different reasons) and Hana closed the door.

Meanwhile, Kitsune was making her way towards the Hokage monument in an alarming speed, as if she was scared the two Inuzuka were going to follow her. Finally sighing in relief, she arrived on top of the stone faces, allowing her feet to swing under her. Looking up at the now light blue sky, she threw her face into the silky pelt of Kota to muffle a groan. She didn't know why she was feeling so miserable, even after getting Kota back, and she had a hunch that she wasn't going to figure it out anytime soon. But she knew at least that the she seriously needed a break or she was going to snap! Knowing she wasn't the smartest in the bunch, she knew that her mind wasn't all that resilient and couldn't figure out situations all too well. On top of that, she wasn't like Naruto or Lee, who both tended to be such cheerfully unaffected people that nothing really bothered them in the first place and if something DID they simply worked through it with more vigor then Kitsune thought existed. She wondered breifly as she finally withdrew her face from Kota, why some of that hadn't rubbed off on her, especially with all the time that she'd spent with the young blond.

As she absently petted Kota, causing the carnivore to purr in delight, Kitsune officially decided that once Naruto effing APOLOGIZED to her, he was going to make all of Kitsune's decisions for her. Why? Because, Kitsune thought wryly, she didn't seem to be able to run her life without him around.

**-**

Naruto groaned as he rolled over in his bed, having gotten barely a wink of sleep last night. He closed his eyes as he reminisced on how Kitsune was usually there right next to him whenever they went to bed and no matter how much he argued, she would always find her way to him while he was sleeping. After a while, he had finally accepted it and it wasn't all that bad. Especially on those cold nights when they were on the road, her radiating body warmth making him feel like he was in a safe place.

But his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard a knock at his door. Flinging himself off of his bed, not caring how his hat flew off, he lunged towards the door and opened it with a strong tug, hoping he would find Kitsune on the other side.

When he saw the tired face of Shikamaru, he was not the slightest bit appeased. If anything, he now felt worse.

"Look Shikamaru, I don't know why you're here but right now is NOT a good ti-"

"It's Sasuke. He's gone."

Naruto's bright eyes widened as Kitsune was shoved out of his brain for the moment.

**-**

"Kitsune?"

Blinking open her eyes, the girl who had just been called out to yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, almost screaming in annoyance as bright sunlight filtered through the thin layer of her eyelids.

"What're you doing?" that same voice continued to call to her. Finally blinking her eyes open, eyelashes lightly fluttering, she found herself starring directly into the still young sun. She couldn't help but let out a squeal of annoyance this time as it full-out burned her eyes. Deciding to turn over, she found that whatever she was lying on sure as HELL wasn't as soft as a bed, or even grassy ground for that matter.

But as she opened her eyes again and found her view was looking downward, she finally saw the person who had been calling her.

"Iruka-senpai!" she drowsily waved, and in the process almost fell off the tall rocky surface.

"Why are you up there?" the brown haired teacher asked in a mix of surprise and wonder, his students crowding around to stare up at Kitsune in equal awe.

"Well, considering that me and Naruto fought, there was no where else I really thought of going," Kitsune laughed in her sleep-deprived state, groping around and successfully finding Kota, using the still sleeping fox as a pillow. She was lightly shocked in how he had still to wake up.

"But...shouldn't you be helping Naruto?" Iruka pried, still paranoid that she was going to fall off the monument.

"In what? Swallowing his pride so he can apologize to me?" she sourly spat back, making Konohamaru who was standing next to Iruka want to beat her in all the more for making fun of his idol.

"_No_. Sasuke ran away and Tsunade ordered Shikamaru to assemble a team to retrieve him."

Kitsune sat up in a flash and before Iruka knew it, she was standing in front of him on her tippy-toes so that she was now only a few inches shorter then him.

"What?!" she ground out through sharp teeth, causing Iruka to gulp in apprehension, never seeing her so riled up before.

"I think you may be able to catch them at the gate," the young teacher offered as he pointed in the direction of the town's large gates that were easily visible from this high view.

"Thanks," she said as she turned back around, her hair viciously whipping Iruka in the face, to pick up Kota and go off in a blur.

"Wait, Kitsune!" Iruka cried out in vain, but sighed as he realized she was long gone.

"I shouldn't have told her that, should I?" Iruka asked as he turned to Tsunade who had just finished climbing up the stairs and had just heard the two's last sentences before seeing Kitsune sprint off.

"Let her do what she wants. It's not like she can screw it up any more," the busty woman sighed as she watched Kitsune who was nothing more then a colorful blur with her orange outfit and redish-gold hair.

**-**

"So this is everyone...?" Naruto asked as he looked around the circle at the faces of Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, and Kiba.

"It's all I think of to get at the short time period. Now, open your packs so Neji can inspect," Shikamaru ordered to which the others nodded and agreed to.

"So Naruto..." Kiba suddenly voiced, "What's up with you and Kitsune?"

"What are you talking about?" he ground out through grit teeth.

"Well...when she came to get her fox at my house she seemed really out of it."

Naruto only snorted in affimation, yet his mind was going a million miles per hour at the information. Was she really disoriented about it all? If so, they why didn't she just come and apologize already?

As Neji moved to Shikamaru's bag, Naruto almost groaned out loud as he knew that it wasn't even remotely her fault for him snapping at her, she had been only trying to calm him down from his angered state because of Sasuke. He finally fully realized that she had been trying to comfort him even thought she didn't really know how and he'd practically slapped her away.

"Alright, if that's it, then we should be leaving now," Shikamaru broke Naruto's thoughts, causing the blond to almost have a panic attack. What if he didn't come back, what if he failed and...

"Naruto," a soft voice broke him out of his troubling thoughts yet again, causing him to whip around in hope only to find a teary eyed Sakura.

"Please. I couldn't bring him back and..." she swallowed, Naruto guessing as a way to try and hold back her tears, "...you're the only one who can do it now. Please...this is the only thing I'll ever ask of you. Please bring him back..."

"I will Sakura, you can bet on it!" Naruto pushed aside Kitsune in favor of his team again, knowing that he was going to worry about the older girl but his team did come first. He had known them longer, and they'd practically grown up together. He'd only known Kitsune for a few select months. Yet as he tried to use this reason, he couldn't help but feel like it didn't suffice.

"Let your youthful fire burn!" Lee exclaimed from his leaning position on his crutches, making Naruto's smile become a little more true. Yes, he had responsibility to this village, and especially to Sasuke.

"We'll come back with one extra person, just you see!" Naruto continued to yell as he pumped his fist, turning to start following the others down the dirt road.

"WAAAAIT!" a voice suddenly pierced through the air, causing all heads to turn to a person who landed in front of the rescue team boys.

Naruto's eyes widened as he took in the panting face of Kitsune, who leaned down to try and catch her breath in the next second.

"What is is you want, you're wasting our time," Neji icily informed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Let me talk to Naruto," she continued to pant out with wide eyes that Naruto had never really seen before, she was really wired wasn't she?

"What?" Naruto asked in apprehension as he walked forward to her, hoping that she wouldn't create a scene. Too bad for the young nin that's exactly what she did.

For she slapped him right there, in front of everyone.

"Did Naruto just get..." Chouji started with a mouthful of chips.

"Bitch slapped, yep," Kiba nodded.

But after their hushed words, it was still silent between the two as they stared at each other, neither of them even blinking.

"Are you done?" Naruto asked in a flat voice, feeling as if with Sasuke running away and now this his emotions were draining away.

"Not even close. But..." Kitsune nibbled her bottom lip before continuing, "I know that you need to be in full health for your rescue of Sasuke."

Naruto blinked at the taller girl before he could only think of saying, "Thanks."

She just as smartly nodded her full head of hair before sniffing.

"So come on," she then grinned her widest as she turned to go down the dirt road.

"You're coming?" Naruto gasped out, forgetting about his stinging cheek altogether.

"You are, right?"

"Course." His blond eyebrows furrowed.

"Then so will I," she stated as if it was the one truth in the world.

For the first time that day, Naruto sincerely smiled.

"Wait," Shikamaru's steady voice interrupted, "You can't come."

"Why not?" Kitsune's enlightened face suddenly twisted to dark.

"Because for one, you don't have permission from me and two, you can't because you're not an official citizen. Only way you'd be able to do that is if you asked Tsunade for special permission, and that'd take too long for us to wait. As it is already, you've wasted too much of our time."

Kitsune's face dropped into one of impassiveness, Naruto sighing as he knew he'd allowed a lapse of judgement. Even if it was allowed, he didn't want her to.

"He's right, and I don't want you getting hurt anyway," Naruto affirmed.

"I won't get hurt, I'm not a _total_ weakling," she growled back, baring her fangs at the blond in defiance.

"What about with Orochimaru? You almost died," he snarled right back as he took a step forward, as to which Kitsune reacted by taking a step back.

"No. I want to come."

"You're staying here."

"No."

Naruto closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. "Please Kit-chan," he whispered when he finally opened them.

Looking away from his truthful cerulean eyes, Kitsune blinked back tears of frustration.

"Fine. But only because you asked," she finally choked out as she rubbed her eyes, refusing to show weakness in front of others.

"Let's go," Shikamaru ordered as the boys ran past Kitsune.

Yet Naruto stayed back, still standing stone still, before jumping forward and embracing Kitsune for a second before he was off too.

She could have sworn he'd whispered, "I'll be back soon," but Kitsune wasn't too sure as she closed her eyes in pain, allowing the wind to play through her hair and refusing to hear the whimpers of Kota or the concerned greetings of Lee and Sakura.

**-**

"Was it really wise to leave Kitsune behind? She had some skill, and we could have used more strength," Kiba said after a good hour of them leaping through the forest.

"It can't be helped. Except for Naruto, we don't know her too well and so we don't have a kinship. It was easier and safer for her to stay at the village and wait rather than participate," Shikamaru droned out, although he did feel a nagging that he might have just let her come along so that they could have an even more advantage in numbers.

Naruto was silent, trying to focus his thoughts on the speeding by branches and how he was going to convince Sasuke to come back to the village.

**-**

Sighing, Kitsune plopped herself down on a park bench, the same one where she'd talked to Iruka and where Naruto had later picked her up. As she brought her knees up to her chest to hug, she wished that time could go back to those easy days where the worst she had to worry about was if they had enough jumpsuits to share.

"Kitsune?" a warm voice asked, which she could easily recognize as Kakashi's.

"Yes Kakashi-senpai?" she asked, not lifting her head from behind her legs.

"Are you alright?" he asked as she felt him sit next to her, causing the bench to lightly squeak in response.

"...Depends what you consider 'alright,'" she answered with a bitter chuckle that shook her frame. The silver haired teacher only hummed in recognition, not going any deeper with more words and questions.

"Why is everything so screwed up?" Kitsune finally broke the comfortable silence that had lasted a good ten minutes.

It was Kakashi's turn to chuckle as he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees.

"I think you'll get used to it."

"I hope so...even with all the different animals in the forest it was never as complicated as it is here. And they _eat_ each other," Kitsune groaned as she finally lifted her head, yet kept her arms around her legs to hold them against her.

"So you grew up in the forest, correct?" Kakashi asked as his eye watched a few clouds pass by overhead.

"Yeah, I visited towns, where I learned how to talk, but I usually freaked them out so much that I was forcefully kicked out," she continued with a nostalgic expression. Even when she was kicked out with angry faces and felt depressed, this current pain that she felt in her chest that made her feel like she was being suffocated was much more intense and made those past memories mere trifles.

"Do you know where you came form Kitsune?" he asked in the most serious tone that Kitsune had ever heart him use.

"...No," she hesitated to answer.

He was silent as he stared out in front of him, as if his soul had left his body.

"You saw, didn't you?" she questioned as she hide her head in her knees again.

"Yeah."

"...Do you think I'm a freak?"

"...No."

"Are you scared?"

To this, he kept quiet a little longer before answering, "No. I'm scared for the village."

"What are you talking about?" Kitsune furrowed her eyebrows as she once again peaked out from the sanctuary of her body ball, "I'd never hurt anyone here. You've all been nothing but nice."

"It's not YOU that will hurt the village."

"You're making no sense Kakashi-senpai," Kitsune shot back, yet she couldn't stop her breath from hiking at this conversation.

He sighed, and kept quiet again until, "I shouldn't be telling you this. You should discover it yourself, which you eventually will."

Getting up from the bench, he stuck one hand in his pocket while his other brought out his loyal orange book.

"And I'll be wanting that book back," he called over his shoulder as he waved goodbye, not giving Kitsune a chance to demand he further explain what he knew, she didn't care _how_ she learned about what was wrong with her just as long as she _knew_.

"Damn it all," she muttered under her breath as she stretched her legs out and crossed her arms over her small chest with a grumpy expression.

She stayed in that stiff position for a long period of hours, trying to think about how her life was turning in circles and going no where, before she saw a group of kids and the familiar face of Iruka who made his way over to her again.

"You didn't go?" he asked as he sat down in Kakashi's place.

"No. Shikamaru wouldn't let me," she snarled out, her canines biting her bottom lip in annoyance.

"Oh...but you did want to go, yes?" the brunette further questioned with warm brown eyes that started to calm Kitsune down.

"Of course. I'd do anything for Naruto's happiness."

There was a heavy pause before Iruka couldn't help but say, "Then why didn't you just ignore Shikamaru and go anyway?"

The reddish-golden haired teen blinked before slapping the palm of her hand into her forehead, alarming Iruka for a second.

"I should have just done that, but I promised Naruto that I'd stay here," she sighed as she took her hand away, revealing a red spot from the force.

"You know, sometimes people don't know what's best for them," Iruka started going into automatic teaching mode.

Kitsune blinked again.

"So you're saying...I should go anyway?"

"Yeah, cause th-...wait, NO! It's too dangerous now if you go by yourself!" he rebuked his previous statements, not realizing what he was cajoling Kitsune into thinking.

"Thanks Sensei, I'll buy you a bowl of ramen when I come back!" Kitsune said as she sat up, gave a salute, and bounded off.

"NO! I wasn't talking about _that_! I was talking about when he comes BACK! _Then_ you can talk and help him!" But his yelling was in vain as she was already gone.

Sighing, he placed his head in his hands and muttered to himself about how he needed to stop sprouting advice or else this would just keep happening.

"Yo. Where's Kitsune?"

Looking up to a curious Kakashi, Iruka groaned.

"I accidentally told her to go after Naruto."

Kakashi's visible eye widened before he sighed beneath his mask himself.

"It's not your fault, she's just as stubborn and strongheaded as Naruto," the silver haired fellow teacher tried to comfort as he sat down next to Iruka where Kitsune had been.

"Yeah, some teacher I am," Iruka sighed as he looked out at the playing kids of his class, but couldn't stop a smile from gracing his handsome face as he saw a young girl give a boy classmate a flower.

"You know, I think you should change you teaching material," Kakashi remarked.

"Hn?" Iruka hummed in curiosity, showing that Kakashi had caught his attention, his eyes looking from the blushing girl to the masked face of Kakashi.

"You should teach this!" the experienced jounin said as he put his _Icha Icha Paradise_ book in the younger teacher's face, causing Iruka to blanch.

**-**

**-**

**END OF EPISODE 12!**

**-**

**Preview For:**

**Episode 13 : Who Knew**

_Kitsune could only pitifully whimper as he watched Naruto getting punched in the stomach, the force throwing him into a wall of stone which crumbled around him from the impact. As she further watched Sasuke advance on his once friend, Kitsune wished more then ever that she could help..._

**-**


	13. Who Knew

_**A/N**: Thanks to: _EverloyalPoptart, rajvir, Fallen-Ryu, somebody51232, deathravenrasengan, Hourou shunketsu, link2143, gaul1, Frozen Wolf13, ApexPredator, Mark20020, Hippie Painter, IMAGINATOR, Dragon Man 180, CrystalHeart27, Aaron Leach, DeExil,_and_ Elemental Dragon Swordman_for reviewing the last chapter (and for some, more). I'm REALLYx100 sorry for the long wait, but don't fear about me quitting this story! I'm going to do it until the end! NOW ONTO THE SCANDALOUS DRAMA! Get ready for some heavy lifting!_

**-**

**-**

**Episode 13 : Who Knew**

**-**

**-**

Kitsune stopped as she landed on the top of the giant front gates of the village, taking deep breaths to try and steady her rapid heartbeat. It wasn't the short sprint that had it going overtime, it was the task that now lay ahead of her. She'd never really gone against something so concrete as to what she'd said to Naruto and she felt the pang of guilt surface. Yet as she thought it over again and how he would need all the help, it made her shake her head to rid herself of second thoughts. She was going to go and, for once, help and if need save him like he'd done for her.

Taking a few fingers to her mouth, she easily set off a whistle that cut through the air. She'd trained Kota at the hospital how to respond when she whistled for him, training him so he could notice and pick up the frequency even if he was at the other side of town. He knew that once he heard it, he was to immediately come to her side.

Without fail, Kitsune counted to eight before he landed on her left, a grin on his mussel as his tails swished behind him, '_Ready Master_' he yipped.

She leaned down to ruffle his ears and head, causing him to purr out for a second, before she bounded up and officially out of the village. She quickly sent chakra into her bare feet so that she could go at a break-neck speed, taking great leaps that propelled her above the canopy of trees before crashing back down, just to bound up and resurface again. In a way, she was practcially flying in the long strides. But she stopped when she heard a whine behind her and she had to wait a few seconds before Kota came to her feet, panting. They had been running for some time now, and the teen guessed that with her fast speed he wasn't able to keep up and so was expending energy he needed to save if he wanted to be of assistance to her.

Sighing, but not really minding, she opened her arms and Kota gratefully bound into her chest, causing her to groan at the added weight. But she had no time to complain and she quickly set off again.

Jumping over trees and clearings alike, she was so occupied with following Naruto and the other's scents that she didn't notice how Choji's had disapeared from the group. She noticed it too late and stopped for a second, turning around to sniff and finding that his scent was gathering in one place, along with one of the enemy's. Biting her lip, she turned back around and continued her journey to Naruto, hoping that the cheery food-loving boy was alright.

Continuing on, Kitsune's nose twitched as she noticed Neji and then Kiba's scents fall away from Naruto's, making the team of five suddenly cut down to two. Taking a second to stop on a branch, she inhaled deeply and noted that the scents the young teens were intermingled with one of the enemy each like Choji. Kitsune became all too obvious of the divid and conquer strategy, or maybe the purposefully began peeling off into their own battles. But she simply shook her head, tightened her grip on Kota, and continued on her way. All she could really do for them now was hope that they'd be alright by themselves.

She was deeply surprised, to say the least, when she came across an area where it seemed the forest tops had been ripped off. Kitsune inhaled again to check for scents and found with a grimace of worry that it was Shikamaru and Temari who had dominated the enemy, whose blood was fairly potent in the air. She could tell that both allied teens were close by, probably only a quarter mile away at the furthest, she she sprinted past in worry. She really didn't want to be caught and forced to turn back by the team leader, and so failing at reaching and helping Naruto. She could have sworn she'd heard her name being called by him or Temari, she didn't know and didn't give time to figure it out as she picked up the speed a little bit more. She felt slightly bad for running away from him, but it was really the only thing she could do if she didn't want to get caught and so slowed down.

But a disturbing thought entered her head as she figured that Naruto was now the only one following Sasuke, if that indeed was his scent she was also trailing along with one other. It was odd in how Sasuke's scent seemed concealed or hidden in some way, yet she pushed it aside for the moment. She could worry about why he smelled funny when she found him and Naruto.

From her latest leap, she almost screamed out as she unintentionally propelled herself into a field of sharp white things that looked like sharp antlers. Gasping and breathing out in relief when she managed to avoid them and land on the sand covered ground, she went up to one and touched it, the white structure having the same appearance as a bone close up too. Yet as she looked out, it seemed almost impossible for all this to be bones, and from what?

"Hey!" At the voice, Kitsune turned around to see something a little far off wave, and she squinted her eyes and wondered if that was indeed something clad in green signaling her over. Sniffing and smiling as she did recognize the scent to be Lee's, she lopped her way over with Kota still tucked in her arms. He was almost getting stiff from the constant carrying and jumped out of her arms for the second since he could keep up at this pace.

"What's happening Lee?" Kitsune asked as she approached the bouncing older-teen, yet she stiffened as she saw Gaara, too, in the shade of the tree. But she stopped herself from acting rashly as she had smelt Temari and Shikamaru together, so maybe the Sand had changed sides if they were helping?

"I don't have much time to explain, but Naruto went after Sasuke so you should follow, and don't worry about Gaara, his village has switched sides and helped me defeat Kimimaru," he ended with a grin towards the one-tailed beast container who only softly grunted in agreement. Kitsune let it go as she knew it was simply his nature and he was probably tired from the fight that had recently commenced here.

"Anyway, I should really get going," Kitsune said as the scent of Naruto drifted into her nose again, reminding her of the time limit and land she had to make up. She wondered what was happening with him and noted with a groan that it had been quite a long time since she'd seen him.

"Be careful," Lee advised in a serious tone.

"You too, when I come back you'll have to tell me how you can move around so freely now," Kitsune said before turning to Kota and saying, "Now I want you to stay here with Lee and Gaara, I think you'll be more helpful to them here since you're slowing down my running."

Kota cried out in distain, the furry animal wanting to scoff at her implied insult of his weight holding her back. "Take care of him Lee, and sorry Kota! I'll make it up to you!" she called before she was off again, only an orange blur before disappearing into the forest altogether.

Lee and Gaara moved their eyes to the large fox who did a weird snort-thing before taking a glance at each of the boys. It then tried to make a break for it, but Lee propelled himself and grabbed the animal at the last second, just in time before the fox leaped off himself.

"Sorry but Kitsune asked you to stay with us," he said as he struggled to hold back something that was less then half his weight.

Kota turned to glare at him before he attempting to lunge away, causing Lee to loose his footing yet he kept his hold strong. Gaara, all the while, was watching with blank eyes before closing them and trying to tune out the world, intent on getting at least some relaxation time.

Kitsune in the meantime, ignorant to how her pet was trying to valiantly follow her, was leaping in bounds even bigger then before. It didn't take long before she came to a river, following it upstream to where Naruto and Sasuke's scents were now congregating.

Rushing out from the rocky cliff, Kitsune heard Naruto before she saw him as he let out a vicious yell of anger. Coming to what seemed like a waterfall with statues on either side, Kitsune panted from her long run and tried to control her racing heart which seemed to be beating much too fast, even faster then during the battle with the sannins or when Naruto was too close to her.

She saw Naruto get punched in the stomach and skip across the river, it caused a growl to escape from her throat at the young Uchiha who was inflicting the damage to the blond. She readied her legs in preperation to spring, yet she felt a disturbing shiver go up and then down her spine as a thought came to her young mind.

_What was she doing?_

Still in her crouch to get ready to pounce, she felt her knees connect with the ground as she put her head into her hands as the thought progressed and new insecurities were created.

Naruto had chosen Sasuke.

Not her.

_Again_.

She felt sick to her stomach as she began to think about how she was the one always going after Naruto; he wasn't coming after her. Kitsune bit down on her hand so that her sudden sob wouldn't escape, yet the tears in her eyes poured out unblocked.

Just like after the fight against Gaara, she questioned to hereslf what she meant to Naruto.

Did she mean anything to him at all?

"Does he really care about me like everyone else...?" she heard herself ask to no one as she took her hand from her face to stare at, the tissue bounding up in a few seconds to recover her self inflected injury as the smell of blood bit through the air.

Suddenly, her head gave a violent shutter and she found herself doubling over in pain.

Coughing, it seemed the pain from her heart moved on to her lungs and she soon found it hard to breath, having to further crumble on the ground from the strain. Sweating, hearing nothing but the loud thumping of her erratic heart, she ripped open her jacket to stare at her chest. She would have snarled if she had the extra breath as the sight of a small black circle that seemed to be expanding. She panted as she watched odd characters and signs come out from the black and then move to spread across her skin.

With a grunt, she urged herself to ignore it all and just get to Naruto. So, ignoring how her lungs felt on fire and her body felt as heavy as lead, she started crawling to the edge of the canyon cliff. It took what seemed like hours, but she finally peaked her head out and saw what was happening over the ridge. It didn't seem like much changed at her first sight of the battle as Sasuke and Naruto were still wailing on each other.

But her heart seemed to shake even more, moving her whole chest, and causing her to cough up blood. Looking down at her chest, she found in horror that the black circle was expanding and it now easily covered a third of her chest. Tearing her eyes from it, she tried to focus on the fight. Moving her hands to grasp the edge of the rocky cliff as to make her believe she was steadier, she wheezed out air in shock as she saw her nails were beginning to elongate and turn into claws. Also, it seemed as if her tan was melting away as the tips of her fingers began to become paler, the whiteness creeping up her arms to spread over the rest of her body. The black signs on her now pale-white skin made a deep contrast that made her grimace deepen.

Also, hair fell began to fall into her face and she shut her eyes as she saw the fiery color turn into a silky black, curls gone altogether. If she had a mirror she would have also realized her brown eyes had turned a dangerous gold and her face had aged and sharpened, becoming a deadly beauty that would have made any person, young or old, stop in their tracks to look.

She tried to yell out with her little air, but found that she couldn't hear anything or even feel a thing come up from her throat. Feeling that her head was being split in two, she closed her eyes and attempted to scream again but still heard nothing. When she opened her eyes, she expected to see the vast river below her yet all she could now see were thick metal bars in an almost entirely black surrounding. Stumbling up, she grabbed for the bars, yet immediately retracted her hands in the last second as she heard a crack from it and saw a strand of electricity shoot out.

"Hello?" she called out in a raspy voice that sounded nothing like her. But her greeting was met with nothing but its echo and the teen dropped her head in semi-defeat as confusion continued to course through her body.

When a nasty laugh echoed through the chamber, Kitsune snapped her head up and almost screamed as she saw a huge, golden eye that was as tall as her who body beyond the bars.

"W-Who are you?" the teen stuttered as she grabbed at the bars in aggression, yet was thrown back as an electric current ran from the metal into her.

"No, no, my young kit. You have much to learn," the voice came again and Kitsune shivered as the eye continued to stare at her. "For you see," the dark voice continued as the animal stood, "you're in no condition to demand things from me right now."

Kitsune remained silent as she hugged herself, violently shivers going through her whole body as she felt she might fall apart any second.

The eyes continued to look down on her before they blinked and turned away, "You want to know what happened? Who I am? Well, I guess we have time since I've overpowered you for now."

At this, the curly haired girl looked up and her shivering subsided for a second.

"Simply put, I am the demon that your heart harbors."

Kitsune's eyes widened before she closed them, putting her hands over them then. "No..."

"Oh yes my dear Kit. And because of your insecurities and doubting the person you care for most, your heart faultered, and I was allowed control."

"GET OUT!" Kitsune suddenly erupted, tears flowing once again as she bit down on her lip, making the sharp taste of blood prominent in her mouth.

The demon looked at her before its mouth opened and a vicious laugh echoed around the damp prision, making Kitsune push her hands against her ears as the reverberating sound made her head once again feel like it was spliting.

"How ignorant you are! This is how you treat the person who gave you power? Whose protected you throughout the years?"

"You haven't given me shit monster!"

"FOOL!" even the bars seemed to shake at the feral call, "Who was it that gave you power to go against the one-tailed? Answer me that!"

Kitsune dropped her head in acceptance, knowing that this was true yet at the same time thought about how the power brought about much more harm then good.

"Then let me borrow it again! Let me defeat Sasuke to protect Naruto!" her plea was wild and frantic, her blood-shot eyes and panting emphasising this.

The demon's laughter echoed once again before its voice came with, "And save my enemy?"

"Naruto isn't our enemy!" Kitsune cried out desperately.

"No, but that demon inside of him is!" the snarl was ferousicous and the demon got up to roar at the wall before swinging one of it's tails against the bars and intentionally electrocuting itself.

"Ah...pain always brings me back," it sighed as it laid down once again, Kitsune not being able to count the number of tails in the dark.

"What do you have against what's in Naruto? Isn't it like you?" Kitsune ventured as she took a tentative step forward, hands tightly grasping her jacket.

"HAH! We are anything but on a neutral term with each other!" it said while its fangs gleamed in the darkness. Golden eyes that'd been unfocused suddenly swung back to Kitsune, making the teen gulp and unconsciously straightened her back.

"Well, I guess since we have time, I'll tell your my relationship with the demon fox inside that blond kit-"

"Naruto," Kitsune interrupted.

"SILENCE!" the ground shook and Kitsune tumbled to her backside. "Now, as I was saying, that demon fox and I have a complicated relationship. It's interesting as we're both foxes you'd think that we'd get along more. But you see... I was created for him."

There was only the sound of dripping water as Kitsune waited for her demon to continue and when it didn't she asked, "What do you mean?"

The animal seemed to do something of a sigh and before Kitsune knew it the animal's eye was right on the other side of the bars and she could see the golden color that seemed to burn so vividly she thought about for a second how beautiful it was.

"There was once a village of superior ninja who had perfected much through countless generations and centuries of greatness brought about by harsh conditions and training. They believed they wanted to have the power of the nine tails and so, created me to lure him in. Too bad for them I took too much from their tribe and then from the nine-tails that I became too powerful for them to handle. In the end... they used a last ditch effort and sealed me inside of their last full-blooded person able and alive."

Kitsune blinked, "My tribe is gone?"

"Ah, I said full-blooded," the fox cackled, "there are always those of partial blood, no?"

"There's someone out there? I have family?!" Kitsune stood with a start, eyes gleaming not in fear but excitement.

"I would tell you more but it seems our time is up," the fox sighed as it stood, it's tails flicking behind it.

"What? NO!" Kitsune yelled out frantically, grabbing the bars once again and because of it getting shocked.

"Kit," the demon laughed, "I would think you'd learn the first time not to touch those bars."

"I'm stubborn," Kitsune rebuttled with a half-hearted glare, still petrified in the face of her demon that was trapped inside of herself.

"Don't you desire to see your blond kit?"

Kitsune felt her stomach drop as her eyes became hallow.

Naruto.

She'd forgotten completely about him as she'd gotten so caught up with talking to her inner demon and learning about her history that she'd forgotten how he was in mortal peril.

"I'm such a disgusting person..." she whispered as she grabbed at her hair and pulled, hoping the pain would bring her back and try and make something real. It did nothing but give a faint throb as her whole body felt like nothingness.

"Every human is selfish Kit, your only redeeming feature in my opinion. Until next time," the voice drifted off and before Kitsune could yell 'wait' she found herself staring up at the raining skies.

Flipping over and rubbing her eyes, she looked down at her hands and arms to find her light golden skin tone was back and the black markings were no where to be found. When she looked down her shirt to her chest, she found that there wasn't a trace.

Feeling frantic in how she couldn't see Naruto and Sasuke fighting, she looked around and spotted Naruto and Sasuke not far off. Getting up on wobbly legs, she leaped her way over and practically collapsed when she arrived at Naruto's side.

As she took in the sight of him, banged up, unconscious, and barely breathing she felt tears well up in her eyes and spill over once again.

"I should have known his _bodyguard_ would come," Sasuke voiced from not far off, having just started walking away.

Kitsune couldn't offer a reply as sobs clogged her throat. She managed to look up with shifty eyes after a few minutes of suppressed cries yet found that Sasuke had already disappeared into the unclear, wet world.

Feeling as if nothing was going right, she stumbled up and attempted to sniff and find Sasuke's scent so that she could follow him. As she pushed her shaky legs forward, she knew he couldn't have gotten far as she had seen the bad condition he was in.

As she lifted her feet through an especially thick area of mud, she looked up to see a silouette not far off.

"Sasuke?" she voiced out and the figure stopped its walking before turning.

"What do you want?" Sasuke's cold voice echoed through the fog, Kitsune almost tripping over her mud caked feet as she attempted to get closer.

"Please don't leave," she sobbed out, feeling emotions overtake her once again. While she usually liked to keep her emotions in check, it seemed that today was much too much for her to handle. Not only had she gone against Naruto's promise, she'd failed to both protect him and had forgotten about him in want of learning more about herself. With all these feelings of guilt that twisted her up in agony, she thought that maybe she could bring back Sasuke for him in a way of apologizing. She was wondering how this terrible mental pain was affecting her body which felt like it was on fire, but she tried to ignore it.

"No. Go away," his curt reply was ice as he turned around once again to leave.

"Come here!" Kitsune yelled as she urged forward quickly, yet as she was just about to grab him from behind, the mud kept hold of her foot and she fell.

"You're pathetic. You know that?" Sasuke asked from above her, not moving as he towered over her.

"Shouldn't you be running? I'm going to get you!" Kitsune choked out as she smeared mud off her face and stood, now looking down on Sasuke from her taller height.

He stared up at her for a few seconds before giving a soft scoff and turning around, continuing on the way he'd been going before Kitsune had interrupted.

"You should go faster. I'm...going...to get...you-," Kitsune felt her body shake before heart-wrenching sobs wracked her body.

Here was the desire of what the person closest to her needed walking away from her. Just walking away. If she'd be able to stop her crying, ignore her body that felt like it was falling apart, and get up, she could probably overwhelm Sasuke in his current condition and simply haul him back to Naruto. Yet here she was, covered in mud, watching the opportunity walk away so slow it was like slow motion. So painful it made her almost forget about her body.

"Why can't I do anything?!" she screamed out in hysteria, knowing that the water on her face now wasn't just from the rain.

"You need to get stronger. That'll answer everything..." Sasuke's ominous voice echoed through the air as his body fully disappeared once again.

Feeling herself fully crumble under it all, Kitsune fell forward once again, face thrown carelessly into the ground. She wanted to laugh at herself. Here she was, not even having enough strength and heart to go back to Naruto's side.

The teen didn't know how long she simply lied there, staring at the droplets that collided with the ground, before a blur appeared in front of her and she heard the panting of dogs. Before she had time to assess what was happening, silver filled her vision as Kakashi pulled her onto his left shoulder, Naruto being on the right. She tried moving her hand to reach for him, yet she found she couldn't find a scrap of energy that she wasn't using to try and keep breathing.

"Lets go home you two," Kakashi declared as he took off towards the village at his fastest speed, scenery nothing but a giant blur.

Kitsune wanted to agree and believe in that statement, but was that really her home? Did she really deserve such a place?

Was she really worthy of such happiness?

**-**

"Has she stabilized?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade as he peaked around the doorframe into the hospital room, his eyes landing on the lone persona of Kitsune as she laid in her bed, half her body propped up as she stared out the window.

Tsunade sighed before supplimenting it with, "There is nothing wrong physically wrong _anymore. _Now it's mental."

"Anymore?"

"Do you recall how I said her insides were a bloody mess after the Suna invasion? Well, it was like that again. It's simply amazing in how her body started healing itself."

"But why isn't she reacting to anything _now_? She looks like a vegetable," he continued as his eyes went to Kitsune once again who hadn't even blinked. He wouldn't think she was breathing if he couldn't hear the faintest breaths with his heightened shinobi hearing.

"It's more then just shock." When Jiraiya gave her a quizzing expression she continued on with, "It's more. She's seen or gone through something that's made her _catatonic_. But what I can't figure out is what would create such a mental breakdown to this extent."

"Well, we can simply ask Naruto seeing as he should be waking up soon, right?" the silver-haired sage asked as he stood fully up and started to walk away, Tsunade fallowing his long strides.

"HEY! Let _GO_!"

"I dare say you're correct," Tsunade agreed with a breath of laughter as she heard Naruto's boisterous voice booming through the hall they were walking down to his room. When they arrived, their eyes were confronted with the comical scene of Naruto wrapped in bandages trying to fight off half a dozen nurses and/or medical students all the while Sakura and Shikamaru stood at one of the corners of the room with blank faces.

"Naruto, calm down," Jiraiya ordered as he ran a hand through his thick hair, wondering why _he_ had to have one of the hardest apprenticies around.

"Not until you tell me where Sasuke is!" Naruto retorted as he elbowed a man in the stomach, causing the poor victim to double over.

"First stop your childish behavior," Tsunade cut in with her demanding voice, narrowed eyes further emphasising her order.

Eyeing the two of them for a few moments, the blond finally scoffed before becoming still, the medical staff hesistant for a half minute before finally letting him go and filing out of the door to do other business.

"Tell me," Naruto ordered himself as he sat down back on his bed, angrily crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sakura, Shikamaru, I'm afraid that visiting time is over," Jiraiya said with a lop-sided smile.

"But-" Sakura started, yet Shikamaru interrupted her with, "Understood. Come on Sakura," before grabbing the girl's wrist and directing her out of the room.

There was silence as Naruto glared at Jiraiya and Tsunade, switching his eyes back and forth between them, while the other two looked at the tiled floor.

"He's gone."

Naruto's crystal blue eyes narrowed at what his mentor said, yet as he opened his mouth to say something Jiraiya continued with, "Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru. He had abandoned both you and the village, he is now concidered a rough."

Naruto blinked before he looked down at his hands before he placed his head in them, grabbing at his bright locks as if he could pull out the answer.

**-**

"What's wrong with her?" Naruto asked Jiraiya as he looked inside Kitsune's room where she was still laying there staring at nothing, eyes blank as she looked dead.

"No one knows. But concidering you're the closest person to her, good luck!" Jiraiya encouraged as he pushed Naruto forward into the white-walled room before quickly shutting the door closed.

Thinking about how his mentor could really be a coward when dealing with women, Naruto bravely turned to face Kitsune who sill hadn't moved. Biting his bottom lip, he went to the bed where he sat at her side, letting his legs hang over the side as he let his hands fall in his lap.

"I don't know if you can hear me," he started, "but I really hope that you can cause I have stuff to say. First being," he interrupted with a soft chuckle, "I should have known you'd follow me. You really don't leave me alone do you?"

He chanced a glance at her and noticed that she had actually closed her eyes, a small but big step considering the medical team said she hadn't moved a single muscle in the time he'd been sleeping and recovering from what Sasuke had done to him. Taking it as a good sign, he continued on as his hands moved to grasp at the bleached bed sheets.

"I should have let you come along from the beginning. Also...I'm sorry for all that I've done. Making you worry, making you feel pain because of me, putting you into this state you're in now-"

Naruto was suddenly cut off as arms gently circled around his neck and brought him into Kitsune's warm chest.

"Don't say sorry. I need to," her voice was husky yet Naruto felt the sound was comforting and he closed his eyes, leaning into her embrace.

"I'm sorry for blinding trailing you. For not protecting you. For getting so absorbed with myself that I forgot about you. For not helping you in getting back Sasuke..." Kitsune choked out as her grip tightened and she buried her nose into the top of his head, wanting to forget the damp smell of old blood from that demon and the vision of Sasuke simply walking away and leaving a dangerously wounded Naruto behind. She wanted to be enveloped in only good. In only Naruto.

"He's really gone..." Naruto finally voiced after a long period of silence, deciding that he'd ask about what she was apologizing about later as he first couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the person he considered a brother was _gone_.

Kitsune squeezed her eyes tighter and brought Naruto's body closer, his own arms coming around to grab at her bare back.

"Why?" his question was muffled from her hospital gown and she wished she had an answer as she cried with him.

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 13!**

**-**

**Preview For:**

**Episode 14 : Restart**

_Kitsune ignored how her heart had just shuttered and closed her eyes._

_"What?" she choked out in a relatively calm tone._

_"I said I'm going away to train with Pervy Sage," Naruto looked away as he couldn't take her face anymore, "and...you can't come."_

**-**


	14. Restart

_A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed, I'm too lazy to go look at all your names, but you know who you are! You're awesome! This chapter clears stuff up from the previous one in areas that may have been a bit blurry and ties a lot of stuff up, and yay for me updating fairly quickly! (if you didn't notice-hah!)_

**-**

**-**

**Episode 14 : Restart**

**-**

**-**

Even though Kitsune didn't want this warmth and feeling of complete peace to end, she knew she had to draw away from Naruto sometime to describe what happened and tell him all she'd learned.

"Naru-chan, I have a lot to tell you," she voiced as she drew away from him and brought her legs up to hug instead. At the action, Naruto's eyes slightly narrowed as he knew from past experiences that she tended to do this habit when either unsure or scared.

"Yeah?"

"I...I could have stopped Sasuke," she blurted out in shame, hiding her face in her legs.

"Then why didn't you stop him?!"

"I don't know!" Kitsune whispered viciously, "It was like my body wasn't listening to me and I felt like it was falling apart. It was...horrible," she couldn't think of a word that would hold as much pain as she'd felt.

"Your...body? Did he hurt you or something?!" Naruto demanded as he grabbed her arms, forcing her to look into his cerulean eyes.

"N-No," Kitsune stuttered as she shook her head along.

"Then why were you in pain?" he asked, the blond obviously confused as to what Kitsune was trying to convey.

"I-" Kitsune felt her heart beat was suddenly loud in her ears and she gulped, thinking about the concequences of telling him what she'd learned. How she was like him in how she held something so dark and dangerous inside her, yet would he turn her away? Feel like she was going to hurt him? Although she knew all demons were vicious, it seemed like hers had a special case of stick-up-the-ass crazy. And when she really was on the spot like this, the irrational fear of him leaving her because of the demon got to her enough that she decided to withhold it from him.

"I don't really remember much," she outright lied as she looked away, "I think it was just how I sped there so fast I forgot to maintain my body and it just shut down from being pushed so fast for so long."

"Ah..." Naruto said as he moved to bring his legs onto the bed, crossing them so he could prop his elbows on his knees and then chin in his palms.

There was silence once again as Kitsune fiddled with her hands while Naruto spaced out and stared out the window. Daring to look up, Kitsune felt that light feeling in her chest resurface and she suddenly had the desire to touch him, to make sure he was safe. That image of him at the waterfall practically dead crept into her mind and she bit the inside of her cheek to bring her back.

"Tell me what happened with you," she plead as she reached out for his bandaged hands, wrapping her long fingers around them before giving him a bright smile.

"There isn't much to tell other then I fought Sasuke and lost...and then he ran away to Orochimaru."

Kitsune felt her eyes widen as Naruto continued with, "I think he believes that snake bastard can help him get strength to go against his brother."

Not knowing what to say, Kitsune prompted to simply bring Naruto into a crushing hug once again.

"You don't know how glad I am that you're still here," Naruto said as his arms brought Kitsune as close to him possible, her curly mane of hair tickling his nose.

"Same here," she giggled and she could have sworn she'd felt Naruto stiffen up for a second, but she ignored this.

"Promise me you won't leave like Sasuke," Naruto's voice was desperate as his grip on her turned so tight it was almost painful.

"I'll never do that. I promise," Kitsune was fast to respond, the words making a smile come to her pretty face and a giggle to burst forth. For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt so happy right then that she felt nothing could take her down. Naruto really _did_ care about her, he would care if she just got up and left. Maybe to the same extent as Sasuke.

"Hey! Don't laugh, I'm serious!" Naruto was angry as he let her go to see her practically glowing face. When he saw the her stretched smile, closed eyes, and cascading tears he felt his chest clench before he was smiling himself.

**-**

Kitsune hummed a merry tune as she walked through the streets, people giving her stares and odd looks at not only her customary orange jumpsuit but in how there was such an aura of happiness that it was practically shocking and blinding to those around her.

"Yo," a voice suddenly sounded behind Kitsune and she readily turned around to see the lanky persona of Kakashi standing there, one hand in his pocket while the other held an orange book to his face.

"H-Hello Kakashi-senpai," Kitsune stuttered as she scratched the back of her head, her feelings of invincibility gone as his lone eye looked down at her.

"We need to talk; where are you going?" the silver haired teacher asked as he went to her side and started walking, his long strides making it easy to keep up with Kitsune's own.

"To pick up Kota. It seems that he was admitted to Kiba's house for a check up, even though Lee told me that he wasn't hurt," she was quick to reply.

"Then I shall escort you there, all the while you telling me what actually happened." When Kitsune looked up after this statement, she found his visible eye still focused on her and she felt a shiver as she felt his chakra flare up in warning if she should say no.

"I understand why you said you're afraid of me. I met my demon inside of me, and it sure as hell wasn't friendly," Kitsune admitted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And?" he pried.

"I...learned that the thing actually wiped out my entire people, except it was weird in how the demon made a point of saying full-blooded only, as if there still might be some of partial decent out there."

Kakashi closed his book as he stared up into the clear blue sky of today, thinking of how Sarutobi really was right all along. She was one from the forgotten people, yet there was still others of their blood. The silver haired jounin wanted to laugh at the situation of it all, considering her blood-family was much closer to her then she could guess if the past Hokage had been right about all his predictions.

"It also said how it wants to...kill the demon inside of Naruto. Apparently they're enemies," the teen continued on as she stared at her dirty feet that walked on the hot road.

"Ah, yes, that is a given," Kakashi sighed as he looked down at Kitsune once again who had gone silent. Knowing that was probably all, he asked a new question of, "You went after Naruto to help retrieve Sasuke? Did you meet up with him?"

Her arms snaked around to hug herself and Kitsune felt the wave of guilt and worthlessness wash over her like yesterday with Naruto.

"I did but for some reason I couldn't do anything to stop him," she admitted, "It felt like my body was on fire and I could barely move around. When I tried to get him he simply...walked away." She willed herself not to cry as there were so many around, and Kakashi no doubt didn't want to deal with her emotions that seemed to overwhelm her now a days.

"Tsunade told me that when I brought you in, your insides were practically non-existent," Kakashi revealed, causing Kitsune to snap her head up to look at him.

"I don't understand," she said as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Your musceles, tissues, organs; everything looked like it had gotten melted or burned away. While you looked perfectly fine on the outside, there was nothing supporting you other then your bones that had even begun to dissintegrate on the inside."

"I..." Kitsune was speechless as she knew something had been wrong with her, but not to this extent.

"So it really wasn't your fault that you couldn't get him," Kakashi sighed as he patted her head, "Technically you shouldn't even be alive right now, yet your body somehow managed to heal yourself fully. Tsunade was quite entranced, I dare say you may become a test subject," he allowed a breath of laughter as Kitsune stiffened.

"Goodbye for now Kitsune," he said as he brought his book out again, giving her a wave with his other hand, before he was gone.

Sighing with relief at finally telling someone the truth, the teen continued on with her trek to the Inuzuka household.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was speeding to Tsunade. When he arrived just out her window, the temperamental woman stopped reading her paperwork and turned to look at him, moving her arms to cross over her endowed chest.

"Come to report something?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

The skilled jounin gave a curt nod before relaying everything that Kitsune had just told him. At the end, Tsunade's eyes were wide as she remembered everything that Kakashi had told her before and about Sarutobi's hunch on her heiratige. It seemed he'd been dead on.

"We cannot have her leave the village. Here she can remain neutral, guarded and not get in the hands of those who will use her for destruction," her voice was cold and controlling, and Kakashi had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"You must tell Naruto that she cannot leave, even for missions, but do not specify why. I do not want to inform him of something Kitsune should do herself," Tsunade sighed as she leaned back, intertwining her fingers in thought. She knew that although what Kitsune was holding from Naruto was very controversial and might make him look at her different, the blond was almost annoyed at the girl that she didn't have enough backbone to admit to what she really was to the person she no doubt cared about most in this world, and would probably understand the most as he was in the same predicament.

"You know, Hokage-sama, you can be very considerate sometimes," Kakashi noted as his visible eye crinkled in amusement.

The pigtailed Hokage simply smiled before dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

**-**

Naruto stared down at his steaming hot ramen and huffed, putting his chin in the palm of his propped arm. While he had been craving the food, he just couldn't get his stomach to settle or the heart to eat it as a problem that had been plauging himself once again resurfaced.

"Hey Naruto my boy!" Jiraiya suddenly sounded from behind the spiky blond, causing Naruto to jump.

"Don't scare me like that Pervy Sage!" Naruto growled as he glared at his mentor as he took a seat to the right of him.

"So much for sensing me with your shinobi skills is more like it," Jiraiya said as he gently elbowed the teen in the ribs before continuing with, "So where's Princess Foxy?"

"Picking up Kota," Naruto sighed as he picked up his chopsticks to play with his noodles.

The silver haired sage wasn't too oblivious to the odd body language and how this was probably the first time Naruto wasn't shoveling the ramen as fast as he could down his throat.

"Is it about the trip you're going to take with me?"

"Yeah...I just feel really bad about leaving everyone here. It's my home, ya know?"

"If I were you I'd probably miss Foxy the most, am I right?" Jiraiya asked with a quirk of his eyebrows, the blush on Naruto's face being enough of a sufficient answer. "You know I'd like for her to come, too, right?" Jiraiya said with a grin.

At the statement, Naruto whirled on him with wide eyes, "Really?" he asked in a slightly frantic voice.

"Yes. But just make sure you want that. Remember how distracting she was, in more ways then one, when you were learning the rasengan?"

Naruto groaned as he covered his eyes with his hands, "She always gets my attention." He knew he could have mastered the move down in a fraction of the time if she hadn't been there with him, constantly talking and bringing his focus on her and not his assignment.

There was silence for a few seconds as Naruto reminisced before he turned to Jiraiya with furrowed eyebrows and asked, "And what do you mean distracting in more ways then one?"

When the toad sage simply waggled his eyebrows before innocently whistling an old tune, the blond felt lost and that he was missing something major.

"Ah, Naruto, there you are," another new voice sounded behind Naruto, making him jump for the second time and curse how he still wasn't aware of his surroundings as he was getting lost in his mind and decisions to come.

"Do you need something Kakashi-sensei?" the blue-eyed boy asked as he twisted on the stool to see his past teacher.

"I am aware that you are scheduled to go on a trip with Jiraiya."

Naruto blinked before nodding in agreement.

"Are you thinking of taking Kitsune along with you?" he asked as he brought out his customary orange book.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his teacher's antics, Naruto answered, "I'm not sure. I'm really thinking about bringing her."

"Sorry. No can do," Kakashi said as he flipped a page.

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before asking with a straight face, "What?"

"Tsunade just ordered me that Kistsune is to not be allowed outside the village for some time. I just needed to inform you of that so, goodbye."

Before the teen had a chance to demand why, his teacher was gone with a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto once again at the ramen stand with Jiraiya.

"What was that?!" Naruto hissed as he turned back around.

"Well...maybe it's because Foxy has been in some suspicious activity lately with going after you without permission and is now being penalized for it?" the toad sage offered as he scratched his chin, actually thinking about how Tsunade might have discovered something about Kitsune that would make her do this harsh decision. Obviously he had to go talk to her soon and learn what she had.

"Damn... so I'm really going to have to leave her," Naruto mumbled in a mix of annoyance and anger.

"Well, might as well go tell her that now," Jiraiya encouraged as he patted Naruto on the back before getting up to go see Tsunade.

"This is gonna _suck_," Naruto continued his laments as he got up himself and started back for his apartment in a sluggish pace, and not because of his wounds.

**-**

"Naruto?" Kitsune called as she opened the apartment door, Kota jumping in and heading straight for the bed where he curled on top of one of the pillows to take a nap.

"What's up?" Naruto said from the bed, arm slung over his eyes as to block out the inferring sunlight that still streamed through the closed curtains.

"Nothing much," Kitsune smiled out before continuing, "Just glad that I have Kota back."

Naruto grunted lightly as he took away his arm and sat up from his lying down position to look at Kota, his head quirking to the side at the sight. "Has he always had two tails? And been this _big_?"

"Ah..." Kitsune blanked on what to tell him, not wanting to reveal how she'd taken the extra chakra that accumulates in her body because of her demon and then transfering it to Kota, so she simply went to, "I guess he's just growing faster then we thought." She turned away as she felt guilt for lying to him again. It was disgusting to herself in how she'd hidden two very important things from him in just two days. She hadn't lied about anything to him, and yet now she felt like she was withdrawing her whole world from him.

"Seems he's more special then I thought," Naruto laughed it off as he fell back down again.

There was complete silence in the shared apartment for a few seconds before Kitsune padded her way over to the large bed and lied down next to Naruto. When she looked his way, it seemed that he'd already been looking at her and quickly averted his eyes away. As she narrowed hers, she noticed that he was sweating as if nervous about something to come, or was holding something in.

"Naru-chan..."

"Yes?" he asked, and cursed himself as his voice was a little higher then normal, which really didn't put down Kitsune's suspicions.

"Is something wrong?" Kitsune asked as she sat up, leaning her arms on her knees.

"Uh," Naruto didn't even know what to start with and so lied there blankly staring at the ceiling for a good half minute before Kitsune whacked him upside the head.

"OW!" he complained as he cradled his head, "What was that for?!"

"Just spit it out already," the older teen ordered as she crossed her arms and huffed, "You can tell me anything you know." With the statement, she had to hold down a wince as she felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world.

Naruto swallowed before looking back up at her face that was still looking at him, eyes narrowed in waiting. He sighed before he ran a hand through his gravity-defying hair before he took a deep breath to start.

"I'm going on a training trip with Jiraiya for two years."

Having been afraid of her reaction, Naruto had closed his eyes. Yet as the seconds ticked by and there still wasn't any noise, he dared to crack them open to see Kitsune sitting ther calm, collected, and smiling.

"When do we leave?" she asked excitedly, practically bouncing in place.

"Ah..." Naruto felt his throat start to close up again as there was still the bomb of her not being able to go to drop.

"When should I start packing? I'm so happy!"

"Kit-chan."

"Usually I travel around and I've been here for so long, it'll be nice to stretch my legs again!"

"Kit-chan!"

"I really can't wait to go taste all the food too! Or see the animals, oh! And the people, hopefully they'll be-"

"KITSUNE!" Naruto yelled, finally succeeding in interrupting her.

She blinked at him before grinning a smile full of fangs and asking, "What is it Naru-chan?"

"It's just..." he paused to take a big breath, "You can't come with us."

Kitsune stared at him for a few seconds before giggling and playfully punching him in the shoulder (Naruto groaned as it really hurt) before she waved her hand in front of her face, as if dispelling what he'd just said. "Don't kid around with something like this, Naru-chan."

When he was silent, she turned to him and seeing his stone-serious face, her smile dropped.

"You're serious."

"Kit-chan, I'm...I'm _so_ _sorry_. I don't know what to say, how to make up how much of a...horrible person I'm being to you."

"No, no!" Kitsune argued as she saw his eyes drop, "It's not your fault!"

When his dejected face still didn't change, she found herself sighing before scooting over to him and hugging him from the back, letting her chin rest on the top of his head.

"I really understand Naru-chan. I don't hate you for going, you want to get stronger right?"

"Yeah..." he muttered as he grabbed her hands that were wrapped around him.

"Then I don't blame you, and you don't have to worry about me. I'll just wait here for you," she decided her agenda for the next two years quickly as her grip tightened.

"I'll be back," Naruto said stubbornly.

"Two years, right?" Kitsune strained a laugh out.

"It'll pass by in a flash," he laughed as he made an attempt to lean out of her embrace, yet she kept him still.

"Don't go just yet," she said seriously.

He was silent for a second before, "We still have a week you know."

Burying her face into his hair, she thought of how she'd never viewed seven days as being so short.

"So are you going to release me?" he half-heartedly joked as he looked down at her arms that were still around him and felt the weight of her head against his.

"Not yet," she said, yet the young shinobi could have sworn there was a pleading undertone beneath the command. So Naruto blinked before sighing, knowing that even though he felt his face was going to explode from all the blood going to it, she deserved at least whatever she asked for before he left.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Kitsune choked out as she moved to rest her cheek in his hair.

The blond didn't know how to respond in words, so he simply grasped her hands a little tighter, letting her know that he was at least here right now.

As her head was filled with the comfort of his scent and the warmth of his body, Kitsune was glad that he'd let her hold him like this for a little longer as she couldn't hold the tears back in any more.

**-**

"Kit-chan," Naruto panted, "I'm going to fall."

"Aw, come on Naru-chan," Kitsune said as she punched a new hand-hold in the cliff side, "This cliff isn't so bad. It's not nearly as vertical as some of the other cliff faces and it's rough, not smooth."

"Can't we just chakra enhance our feet and jump up? Or just walk up?" Naruto continued as he swung his leg to get to a crack, wedging it in slightly painfully yet enough so he wouldn't lose his hold.

"It's more fulfilling when you do it without chakra enhancement and anyway we're almost there. Seriously," Kitsune grunted as she swung her own leg higher. And true to her word, they were at the top of the cliff side in about five more minutes.

Lying on his back right after he swung himself over, Naruto sighed as he looked up into the clear blue sky.

"Wow..." he said as he got up to look at the view, finding himself breathless now not only because of the climb.

"I thought since you showed me the sight of the Hokage monument, I'd show you this one," Kitsune said as she smirked.

"I think you've outdone me. How'd you find this anyway?" Naruto questioned as he sat down at the edge, allowing his legs to swing under him.

"Um..." Kitsune bit her lip for a second, "I found this when I was running around after you yelled at me because of you fighting with Sasuke."

"Oh," Naruto blinked, "Did I forget to apologize for that?"

"Ancient history," Kitsune snorted as she sat next to him. "It was actually fun cause I screamed my lungs out here and no one could hear," she went on as she took off the bag she'd been carrying.

"What stuff did you yell?" Naruto questioned as he took off his own backpack.

Kitsune grinned coyly for a few seconds before, "Only nature knows."

"No fair," Naruto whined but when Kitsune shrugged he knew he wasn't going to get it out of her, so he might as well drop it now.

Looking out at the vast landscape below them, Naruto didn't think twice before he sucked in a huge breath and yelled, "I'm going to become the strongest ninja, no matter what!"

Shocked for a second by his loud voice that was still echoing around him, Kitsune turned to the blond to find him laughing. "Your turn, Kit-chan," he said between his bouts of laughter.

She put a finger to her lips in thought before her eyes lit up with what she was going to declare. So, taking in a huge breath, she exclaimed, "You've changed my life for the better Naruto! More then I ever expected from anyone!"

Catching her breath, she didn't dare look across to him but before she knew it, he'd latched onto her side and began squeezing the life out of her in a rib-cracking hug.

When he finally let her go and Kitsune had the guts to look him in the eye, she found them glittering and filled with so much warmth she felt herself begin to choke up too, but she refused herself that.

"Now," she sniffed, "I brought lunch. What would you like?"

**-**

"You know, Naruto and Kitsune have been closer then ever this past week," Kakashi noted to Jiraiya as they sat at the ramen stand in waiting for their shared pupil Naruto and his attached-at-the-hip Kitsune.

Jiraiya sighed, "It's gonna be hard for both of them."

"But it's unavoidable," Kakashi said as he lightly shook his head.

The sage didn't have a chance to say anything as the two teens were suddenly in sight, bounding down the street with Kitsune in the slight lead, her long legs no doubt giving her the advantage. Yet Naruto pushed even harder at the sight of the stand and because of it broke through to have slightest lead. He was so engrossed with now being in the lead, he didn't notice how he needed to have begun slowing down as he was about to collide into the ramen stand. But Jiraiya was all over it as right before he skidded into the bar face first, he yanked the teen by his collar up into the air where he swung a few times before being placed down.

"Cheater!" Kitsune cried as she jogged up, "You got help! If I hadn't had to slow down I would have won!"

"Whatever," Naruto shrugged with a chuckle as he sat in a stool and turned to his former sensei Kakashi.

"I'm just here to talk some business with Jiraiya, I'm off now," the silver-haired shinobi said as he gave a sloppy salute before taking his leave.

Kitsune, slightly wary of what Kakashi had told him as she hadn't had a chance to tell the toad sage herself about what she'd discovered about herself, stood in the street rubbing her big toe in the dirt for a few seconds as she wondered how to approach Jiraiya.

"Come on Foxy," Jiraiya sighed as he motioned for her to sit in the seat that Kakashi had just vacated, "If you don't hurry Naruto will eat all the ramen in the shop."

"Well, course," the blond said before he scooped in a load of noodles he chewed and swallowed quickly before continuing with, "I won't be able to eat here for some time. Have to eat a lot now to make up for it later."

Kitsune rolled her eyes before breaking her own chop-sticks. Yet as she was about to take her first bite, she turned towards Naruto with a gleam in her eyes. "Hey, Naru-chan."

"Mwah?" he managed to get out with a mouth full of noodles.

"Promise me something?" she ventured a she held her chopsticks in her clasped hands.

Naruto swallowed before, "What?"

"Let's promise to not eat ramen until we're together again," she said with eyes gleaming hopefully.

Jiraiya, seeing Naruto's face drop like he'd just heard his apartment had caught fire and was now gone, managed to hide his laughter with a cough.

"B-But-" Naruto stuttered as he thought about how painful it'd be not being able to eat his favorite dish for the long amount that they'd be separated for.

"Please?" Kitsune pleaded as she leaned across of Jiraiya to be closer to the blond.

Suddenly feeling cornered, the teen could do nothing but sigh and nod his head.

"Pinky swear," the bright-haired girl said with glee, having learned this from Ino at the flower shop one day.

Himself not knowing what it was, he reached his pinky out to intertwine with hers.

"Now if you break this promise, I get to break your pinky," she giggled gleefully, at to which Naruto's face paled even more.

"Hey guys, seems you got here early," Iruka voiced as he flipped the cloth flaps to sit down next to Naruto with his warm smile.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto marveled as he suddenly perked up.

After Naruto downed a few more bowls and said his short goodbye to his first mentor but more importantly the first person he ever truely loved, the odd trio were off towards the gates. When the arrived at the huge doors, Kitsune came to a standstill as the other two stepped closer to the gates.

"I guess... this is goodbye," she said as she forced herself to smile, constantly yelling thoughts to herself of how not to cry.

Jiraiya, sensing they needed some time alone, turned towards the open road again and began his way. Seeing as he was leaving, Kitsune cried out, "Pervy sage!"

When he turned around and saw her face twisted in worry and guilt, probably for not telling him about her demon herself, he smiled lightly before sighing and waving his hand in the air, as if telling her to wave off her worries. At the motion, Kitsune felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she knew he understood and from the warm expression on his face, still cared for her, and so enthusiastically waved back before he turned around down the road once again.

"I'm sorry Kit-chan," Naruto said as he looked down at his shoes in shame, feeling the guilt wash over as he knew he was essentially leaving her and the village for a good amount of time.

"I know you'll be back soon," she whispered as she leaned down to touch his forehead with hers. They stood like that, simply leaning on each other, before Naruto lifted his face and gently rubbed noses with her, causing Kitsune to really tear up.

"It'll be short, the time will fly by fast," he said as he looked into her hazel eyes, his own blue burning with determination.

Nodding her head and trying to hold down her sobs, Kitsune felt like her emotions were running amuck again.

Naruto grabbed her hands and gave a final squeeze, feeling that odd tingling once again, before he turned to catch up with Jiraiya who was almost out of sight now.

Feeling her chest rise and fall as she saw him take his first step away, Kitsune shot her hand out to grab his wrist.

"Kit-chan," he sighed before he began to turn around, "I know that y-"

But he was cut off as her lips collided with hers.

He was shocked, and so stood there eyes wide open as she kissed him and when he finally began to compute the situation she had withdrawn with her face pure red. Before he could ask why she'd done something so unexpected and bold, he noticed her fishing around in her pant pockets before extracting two chains with hearts on them.

"Necklaces?" he questioned as she handed them to him.

"They're lockets," she whispered as she took one and unhooked the clasp, opening the small heart to reveal pictures from the photo booth at the festival, this one in which Naruto was making a goofy face on one side and the other had them both grinning and making a heart with each of their hands.

"This one is for you," she said as she opened the other, this one holding the picture of when she'd kissed him on the cheek while the other side was empty.

"Why's one of the sides empty?" he asked, as to which Kitsune's face became even redder.

"I-I was hoping you'd..." she drifted off for a second before taking a breath and daring, "put a picture of me on that side."

She looked into his crystal blue eyes and grinned in relief as he was smiling. "Will do."

Kitsune's grin widened as she took her locket from his hand and closed it before unhooking it and began putting it on herself. But Naruto was quick as he grabbed it from her and motioned for her to turn around, Kitsune getting without words that he was going to put it on for her. He did so quickly, and it fell just a few inches below her collar bone comfortably. Grabbing the other locket from his hand, she did the same for him, although she fumbled a little.

"Come back soon idiot," Kitsune sniffed as she hid her lips with her hand, her blush still prominent as she couldn't seem to forget that she'd kissed him fully on the lips.

"Y-Yeah," Naruto stuttered, almost forgetting how to speak for a second, before he turned once again to leave, wondering why he suddenly felt like he could take on the world. As that feeling manifested in his chest with every step he took, he turned around once again to see her still standing there, hands clasped around her locket.

Taking a deep breath, he sprinted back over to her and tippy-toed up to her height to kiss her on the lips, this time her being as shocked as he was, before sprinting away.

When he got to the top of the hill, he turned around to see that Kitsune was still at the gate watching him till the very end. Feeling his chest swell with pride, he yelled "See you soon!"

Although he knew his vision couldn't be good enough to see her smile, he knew that she was doing just that, with probably a still very red face, when she yelled "Be safe! I'm not going anywhere until you come back!" loud enough for him to hear.

He gave a final wave before he continued, both of them losing sight of the other.

**-**

Kitsune sighed as she aimlessly watered the plants on the roof of her and Naruto's apartment building. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about how it was more like her own apartment now that he was gone. It had only been four days since he'd left the village and already she felt bored and empty.

When she heard a whoosh of wind, her nose twitched as Kakashi's scent filled her nose.

"Hello Kakashi-senpai," she said as she didn't need to turn around and look at the person to identify him.

"Watering?" the silver-haired shinobi asked with a raise of his visible eyebrow.

"I thought I'd grow a garden to show Naruto when he comes back. Show him I can do at least something right," she sighed as she set down the watering can to turn to the lanky teacher. "Have anything to tell me?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lady Tsunade has requested your presence in the hospital," he said as he opened his trusty orange-covered book.

"This is going to involve needles, isn't it?"

"Hn, you'll just have to find out yourself," he said before he was gone.

Kitsune lightly growled before she looked up into the sky and sighed. If this was what it was like with him only gone for four days, Kitsune shuttered to think about how it was going to be like in half a year, let alone two whole ones. But, as she sighed heavily again and lowered her curly head, she really had no choice in the matter and for once in her life was going to have to be patient and wait something out. And more importantly, she was not going to fail or run away.

And hey, she needed to start thinking more positively. Maybe Tsunade wouldn't really need her and just wanted to say hi.

As she was about to bound off, Kota came to her side and arched up against her leg in an affectionate manner. Smiling, she leaned down and rubbed under his chin, causing a rumbling to come out from deep under his throat.

"I guess you're here with me, too," she said through her smile as she looked into his chocolate-brown eyes, "I can do this." At the confirmation, she grabbed the golden locket from around her neck before nodding her head a few times.

Taking a deep breath, she leapt off the building towards the hospital, hoping needles and puncture marks weren't in her near future.

**-**

Naruto groaned as he staggered and then dropped onto his sleeping bag.

"If you don't dry yourself you're going to get your sleeping bag all wet and you'll get cold," Jiraiya said as he sat down next to him, rubbing a towel through his mass of white hair.

"Tch," Naruto sneered as he flipped over onto his back so he could see the night sky, thinking that the fire next to him would be a good enough heater and dryer.

When his eyes were filled with the inky blackness of night and glittering stars, a soft smile formed on his whiskered face. Although his arms were felt like lead and so he wasn't able to trace the constellations Kitsune had taught him with his fingers, he did it with his eyes before he closed them and allowed to bask himself in past memories of happiness.

"Oi, Naruto, get to sleep. We have a long way to travel tomorrow if we want to keep on schedule," Jiraiya said as he got into his own bedding and closed his eyes to go into a light sleep, yet keeping enough awareness to be able to detect enemies or unwanted others.

The blond, in turn, opened his own eyes to stare at the twinkling stars a little more. Putting his hand over his lips, he felt his face flush as he remembered how Kitsune had suddenly given him a surprise attack kiss and then he'd kissed her back. Those two kisses had practically melted his brain; that entire day he'd been tripping over stones and sticks on the road as all he could think about were her slightly rough lips and how her face had looked so peaceful and then shocked when he'd kissed her back, if only it'd been for a few seconds, both expressions were priceless.

He moved his hand to touch the heart locket and he felt his face further heat up even more. Darting his eyes over to Jiraiya to make sure he wasn't watching him, he sat up and opened the locket, holding it far away enough so he could see the pictures. True to his word, he had carefully cut one of the pictures of Kitsune from the booth to fit into the small area. Although it'd been hard deciding which one to choose, he had gone with one that she had a small, soft smile on and her face weren't twisted in some ridiculous pose, allowing for her beauty to show. Sighing, he closed it back and lied down again to look at the stars some more.

But eventually exhaustion took it's tole and he closed his eyes, thrown into his own dreamland.

**-**

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**END OF EPISODE 14!**

**END OF SEASON 1!**

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_A/N: I liked the first half of this chapter and then...meh, hope you didn't gag at the overload of fluff DX But anyway, WOW! First part/season is done! Hoozah!! *fireworkslighted* I just want to thank everyone for their support in whether alerts, reviews, or simply reading this story that's gone much further and gathered a lot more support then I ever thought it would. I hope you stick around for when I go Shippuden, I'd love it if you all kept reading and enjoying! And I'm just going to continue on with this posted story, I'm not going to create a whole new one, so if you're on alert for this you have no fear! THANKS everyone again!_


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